What Happens Next?
by Angel of Music lover
Summary: Just my opinion on what the next episode of LOST should be like... this is my first fanfic so criticsm is always welcome! Also the genre may change as the story goes on!
1. Chapter 1

(Claire's point of view)

Looking out at the sea I realize I was such a fool yesterday. Making Kate and Danielle run half way across the island to find medicine only to find that it was gone. I know that Aaron is asleep (for once!) as I hold him and I think back on the memories with Ethan in them. He had been so nice to me, almost as if he were a regular person. For a minute I almost believed that he cared for me. Before there had only been hatred and fear when she heard the name Ethan but now there were other emotions along with the first all jumbled up in my head. I decided as soon as I remembered the other Ethan that I would keep it a secret, not wanting Kate, Jack, or even Charlie to get the wrong impression about it.

"_Besides," _I think to myself, _" He convinced me to give my baby to him! Who would be inhuman enough to trick a mother into giving you her baby?" _But I also remember that feeling of relief when I had decided to give my baby to him… maybe I was the one at fault?

(No point of view)

Life was going on as normal for most of the survivors on the beach. The button was pushed, the people ate, Sawyer gloated over his victory over the guns, and Locke and Jack gave each other challenging looks. Yes it would seem that life was carrying on as normal… until a hoarse laugh broke the slightly tranquil silence.

"A pregnancy test? Oh you have got to be joking!" Sawyer barked, barely controlling the bray of laughter that longed to come out. Sun rolled her eyes and tried not to strangle him.

"Yes a pregnancy test! You know it's what a woman uses to see if she's pregnant or not? Or did you never stick around long enough with your girlfriends to find out what that was?" Sawyer's jaw dropped slightly at Sun's forward attitude. She had always seemed so quiet and respectful before… but he had to admit the girl could certainly deliver a verbal punch.

"All right! Easy there Miss. Tongue of Steel! I'll give you your special pregnancy tester thing… it comes with a price though." Sun cocked an eyebrow and Sawyer could see her considering.

"What are the conditions?" Sun asked carefully and Sawyer nearly laughed again at the cautious look on her face. Tilting his head cockily and smirking as he leaned back against his chair Sawyer answered.

"Well all I need from you is to answer a question." Sawyer paused for a dramatic effect and then continued, "I ain't the father am I?" Sun wasn't sure whether she should yell at him or simply pull that lawn chair from under him and jam it painfully down his throat. She quickly decided on the former.

"Why you immature, inconsiderate, cold-hearted…" Suddenly there was another female voice chorusing in with Sun's shouts.

"First class moron!" Kate finished for Sun and glared at Sawyer. Speaking of Sawyer he wasn't feeling too hot with too angry women closing the gap between them and himself. Deciding not to ruin his newly obtained reputation Sawyer merely shot back stubbornly,

"All I want is the answer and Sun has her pregnancy test." Sun glared for a moment and then rolled her eyes.

"No."

"No what?" Sawyer asked gleefully. Kate nearly took a swing at the jerk but Sun stopped her, knowing that this was a battle not worth fighting.

"No you are not the father Sawyer."

"Why thank you Sun! Now you can have your precious test. I'm sure I saw one here somewhere!" Soon Sawyer returned from the mound of loot that was behind him and waved a pregnancy test in the air. "Got it!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: All right time for chapter two! Thanks for putting up with this story and sorry about the shortness of the last chapter but I just wanted to post the story before I forgot. Hopefully this chapter is somewhat longer! Also a big thanks to Hersheygal for being my only reviewer! Okay onward with the story!**

**Disclaimer: If I really owned LOST would I be writing about it on fanfiction?**

(Kate's point of view)

Yesterday was quite a day. I was just so sure that Claire was imagining things to try and fill the gap in her life. So when we finally found that big hole in the ground I was speechless to say the least. I even began to wonder why I went on this whacked out trip. You see I'm not really the kind of person who would go halfway across an island with a frantic mother and a nut job of a French woman. Yet there I was doing exactly that. After much thought I realized that I just wanted to get away from the tension. The tension that comes when I'm with Jack. Why can't I just pick a guy that actually likes me for once?

(No point of view)

Oblivious to the commotion on the beach, Jack and Locke shared a strained silence in the hatch. Unfortunately for Locke, Jack had walked in on his little "episode" yesterday and was stunned to say the least. Locke was seething with anger towards Jack and yet poor Jack was just confused.

"So," Jack began trying to break the silence, "Nice weather today." Locke only grunted in response and Jack fell silent again. As the minutes stretched on Jack was beginning to stopped trying to make conversation but instead let his own anger brew a little. As if on cue the alarm for the button began to go off.

"I'll get that," Locke said and disappeared into another room. When he returned Jack had had enough of Locke and finally cracked.

"I see the dog is responding to its master's call again!" Jack spat angrily at Locke. "Do you ever feel like one of Pavlov's dogs? Because I sure do every time I type in that code." This was all it took for Locke to set off Locke.

"So you're saying that you would endanger everyone on this island for your pride?" It was took everything Locke had not to yell himself hoarse. "That's rather low don't you think?" Now it was Jack's turn to get angry.

"I care about the people here more than you will ever know Locke! And who says that by pushing this button we are keeping the survivors safe? What if it helps _Them_?" Now the two were screaming at each other at the tops of their lungs and might've killed each other if someone hadn't walked in just then.

"Hello?" came Charlie's hesitant voice, "Anyone… oh sorry bad time?" Charlie was visibly embarrassed at walking in on the two's argument.

"No Charlie… I was just leaving," came Locke's reply and he walked right out. Jack just stood in place, trying to cool off enough so he could talk civilly to Charlie. Charlie for one was just relieved that Locke had been the one to leave because he hated being in the same room with him anymore. Sure being in the same room with anyone was hard anymore since that event with Aaron but it was a bit easier with Jack.

"Did you need something Charlie?" Jack finally said, having calmed down enough to speak again instead of shout.

"Uh… yeah you said that you wanted to check on my stitches three or four days after putting them in?" Suddenly being in the same room with someone as kind as Jack felt uncomfortable when he remembered why he got these stitches. Now all Charlie wanted to do was run far away into a dark corner where no one could find him. Jack saw this sudden fear cross Charlie's face and for the moment put his own anger aside and smiled kindly at Charlie.

"That's right… come here so I can get a better look at your forehead." Charlie did as he was told and Jack quickly checked the stitches. "Well it all looks good. Just remember to keep them as clean as possible and maybe next week we can take them out!" Charlie nodded and was about to leave when suddenly a question formed in his mind.

"What were you and Locke arguing about in here?" Jack stiffened slightly and answered somewhat quickly.

"It was nothing… rather silly… nothing for you to be concerned about…" Jack said and couldn't help but let his words become a bit chilly.

"Oh… all right then," Charlie responded and hurried for the exit. _"I knew that I would over step a boundary asking that… Charlie you're such a screw up!"_ he thought to himself.

"Charlie wait!" Jack called and Charlie did as he was told reluctantly. He just wanted to leave and go back to where it was quiet. "I'm sorry Charlie… I didn't mean to sound angry with you. You should come down here more often… lots of people still like talking with you." Charlie nodded slowly and then made his way out of the hatch while deep in thought.

**A/N: Okay maybe not that much longer than last time but at least I'm writing:D Anyway if you happen to be reading this and either like this story, hate it, or just like to critique things then go ahead and push the review button! Anything that is remotely helpful I will use to improve other writing so please, please try and help me out! Thank you! **


	3. Good Morning Sunshine

**A/N: Hey! I got a review saying that there should be more Jate in this story so that's what I tried to do. Now it won't be immediate mind you… it will be a rough road for Jate in this story. Anyway this is mainly a Charlie based chapter with hopefully a good twist and cliff at the end. **

(Charlie's point of view)

I guess you could say that I've changed over these last few weeks. It all started with the Aaron and Claire incident. Since then Claire, or anyone else for that matter, can't look me in the face without flinching or looking down again. I really did try to hang out with the other survivors but I found myself getting more and more depressed as they began to avoid me. So I moved out closer to the forest and found a peaceful tranquility and for a while I was content. Then Sawyer came and told me how I could get back at Locke and I found myself hurting Sun just to get to Locke. I then realized what the anger was doing to me and decided that I never want to go through that again so I moved even farther down the beach so that even Sawyer got the hint. Now I have this constant need to just run away from the stares of other people and hide in the cool darkness that I have come to love. I've given up on everyone in the group, including Claire, so I have no reason to go back. Well actually there is one, Aaron. Aaron has become like a son to me so I keep a close eye on the commotion just to make sure that he's safe.

(No point of view)

"Well good morning sunshine!" Sawyer exclaimed as he opened the entrance to Kate's tent. Kate glared at Sawyer, partly because the sunlight nearly blinded her and also because she wasn't on very good terms with him either.

"Why don't you go bug someone else for a change Sawyer? I think I deserve a little bit of sleep!" Kate snapped harshly and sat up so that she could aim her glares a little better. Sawyer looked hurt for a second but Kate thought it was probably an act to make her feel bad. She was right.

"Well can't a handsome man wake up the lovely sleeping beauty?" Sawyer drawled in his heavy accent and at that point Kate lost it.

"Well I thought that you would be too busy going behind everyone's backs and stealing some guns just so you could get back at Jack because he's everything you're not!" Kate nearly screamed at Sawyer. Now Sawyer just looked plain angry.

"Hey _darlin'_, I was just doing what had to be done! Jack's ego has been way to inflated lately and he needed something to bring it back down! So stop trying to beg for his forgiveness and open your eyes up a little bit freckles. He ain't anything he pretends to be." Kate let out a slight yell because Sawyer had just stuck a lemon into her "cut". Her current situation with Jack was sensitive for her and she hated it when Sawyer brought it up. Anyway Kate started yelling a swearing at the top of her lungs while Sawyer returned the favor. Kate was also the first to start shoving Sawyer and from there it started to get a little bit ugly. Fortunately Jack himself showed up on the scene.

"SAWYER! KATE! BACK OFF!" and with that Jack firmly separated the two before either got hurt. "Now would someone mind telling me what's going on here?" Jack said loudly and looked between Kate and Sawyer.

"Well…" Kate started, "Sawyer came and woke me up and I didn't really feel like talking so I asked him to leave…"

"Then this little ray of sunshine started defending you and praising you like the little suck up that she is," Sawyer finished for Kate and continued to use some rather creative and vulgar names for Kate under his breath. Upon hearing this both Kate and Jack went to swing a punch at him but Jack got there first. Sawyer reeled back looking slightly surprised and very angry while Kate just stood there looking shell shocked. Suddenly Sawyer started laughing so hard that his face turned purple. Shaking his head and still laughing, Sawyer stumbled away from the two off to his own tent.

"Well… thanks Jack," Kate muttered and was blushing furiously. Jack also looked slightly uncomfortable but at least he wasn't blushing.

"Well… Sawyer shouldn't be talking that way about anyone. Just putting him in his place." Jack smiled at Kate and she looked away. The fear of losing Jack forever now that she had feelings for him was bubbling it's way to the surface again and she was trying to force back the urge to run. Charlie watched them from a distance and was deep in thought.

_"Isn't it funny how everyone but them can tell how good they are for each other?"_ Charlie thought to himself grimly. He couldn't resist looking over at Claire's tent when he heard soft cooing noises coming from the baby. He grinned to himself as Claire lifted Aaron up and tickled him softly to receive squeals of delight from him. Charlie's smile soon disappeared though as he realized how much his heart was aching to be a part of that family again. He blinked back tears that were threatening to spill over and decided that he couldn't watch anymore. He stood up and walked towards his little home over in the distance to take a nap. Now more than ever he wished that he could have a fix.

_"Come on man! How bloody weak are you? Still wanting a fix even after everyone shunned you because they thought you were using again! If you won't do it for yourself do it for Claire and Aaron." _Charlie gritted his teeth painfully and clutched some sand from the beach until the craving passed. Exhausted, Charlie immediately fell asleep right where he sat.

_"You'll never amount to anything Charlie! Always listening to that devil music and wasting your life away on silly dreams! You're slowly killing your mum you know that? YOU'RE KILLING HER DAMN YOU!" _Charlie's father bellowed down at him with his veins nearly popping out from his neck and his eyes filled with immense hate.

_"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to kill her, honestly I didn't! You have to believe me…" _Suddenly someone was shaking Charlie desperately and he woke to the harsh sounds of someone calling his name.

"Charlie! Charlie wake up man!" Mumbling curses under his breath Charlie looked into the darkness to see who woke him.

"Who is it? Where are you?" There was silence and then the person stepped closer. "Oh dear god, Michael?"

**A/N: There you go… another chapter! What's up with Charlie's past, is it really Michael that woke Charlie up, and will Sawyer ever quit laughing? Find out next time… and only if you review. I want to know what people want to read! **


	4. MICHAEL'S BACK!

**A/N: Well I'm back… this chapter is a tad bit pointless but necessary as well. I promise that I will have a little more angsty Jate in the next chapter but for now… read. **

(Jack's point of view)

Why does she have to be so pretty? I wish I could get her smile out of my head but it's no use. Sure Ana Lucia makes good company but I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with her. I can't even imagine kissing her! Kate is definitely a different story. I just wish I knew why she had such a strong instinct to run. She's always running away from something, I know from personal experience. I really need to stop thinking so much about Kate though because she's distracting me from whatever it is that Locke is up to. I saw him break all those plates in a fit of anger and something told me that he was upset with me. I'm even finding myself thinking dark thoughts in his direction. I don't know, maybe we're threatened by each other or something. It's strange how two people who got along great can turn into enemies so quickly. The island does things to you and it's working its magic on the two of us now.

(No point of view)

Night has settled on the island and those on the beach lounged about comfortably. At least they were before there were the sounds of Charlie yelling like a lunatic.

"Jack! Locke! Someone! Michael's back!" Charlie yelled as he ran frantically down the beach. Charlie was so worked up that he didn't realize that he left poor Michael alone on the beach confused. Everyone heard the Drive Shaft member and instantly began running in the direction that Charlie was coming from. Jack, who happened to be off duty from the hatch and Gale, reached Charlie first.

"Where is he Charlie? Where's Michael?" Jack asked eagerly but somewhat skeptically. Charlie's face dropped and he looked guilty.

"Umm… uhh… yeah…" Charlie mumbled and pointed to where he assumed Michael was still standing. Jack rolled his eyes and took off at a sprint in that direction along with Kate, Jin, Sawyer, and Charlie himself.

"Well it's about time someone showed up for me!" Michael exclaimed as the small group reached him at last.

"Sorry Michael, I was just so surprised to see you were back that I kinda spazzed out on you," Charlie apologized. Michael nodded and Charlie wasn't sure if it was an understanding nod or an annoyed one. His answer was quickly answered.

"Well next time I show up from being lost in the freaky jungle I'll be sure to warn you in advance," Michael replied with a slight smirk. Charlie grinned at this and all was well between them. Sawyer rolled his eyes but remained silent.

"What happened!" Jack demanded. Michael shifted uncomfortably and looked at the ground.

"I couldn't find him," Michael whispered painfully. "I looked everywhere… absolutely everywhere Jack but I just couldn't find Them or Walt." Michael looked extremely depressed at this point and Jack looked sympathetic for a moment. Even Sawyer looked saddened by the news and Kate put a reassuring arm around Michael. Jack tensed slightly at this contact between Kate and Michael but let it go. Jin just stood silently as he absorbed the information that Michael gave all of them. Suddenly he spoke out loud.

"Okay," was all he said to Michael but it really meant "It's okay, you'll find him." Many different emotions crossed Michael's face and he could only shake his head.

"I wish I could believe it was that simple buddy," Michael muttered but was only met by a confused stare from Jin. This time all he said was "No!" and shook his head vigorously to demonstrate the meaning to Jin. Jin's face darkened but he remained silent.

"Come on lets go back to the beach," Kate suggested and everyone agreed. They walked in silence until Sawyer broke the silence by laughing hysterically.

"May I ask what's so funny Sawyer?" Michael inquired coldly. Sawyer was laughing so hard that tears fell down his face.

"I-I'm sorry b-buddy," Sawyer choked in between laughs, "It's just that this whole situation is so hilarious. Think about it…" At first the others just stared at him like he was crazy but once Kate began to giggle a little bit they all joined in.

"Dudes… like what's so funny?" Hurley asked with his trademark blank stare.

**A/N: Okay so now you've read it and I expect some reviews… at least from hersheygal because I know she's reading this at least. Thanks! **


	5. Interesting conversations

**A/N: Well… here you go! The next chapter in my little interesting story. So what _is_ so funny? Well you're about to find out. Sorry if the chapter seemed a little bit leaned towards Charlie but I really tried to make it even throughout the characters. Oh well… **

**Disclaimer: If I owned LOST the show would feature Jack crying a lot more… just because he looks good when he cries. :D Sadly I don't own it though… **

(Hurley's point of view)

Lots of people think that I'm some kind of carefree roaming spirit or something. Well I think it's time that we all face the facts… I'm not that guy. I'm a guy with absolutely no self confidence, recently spent time in a nut house, had an imaginary friend named Dave, and I eat to punish myself. That's why I'm this way I suppose. Anyway, the point is dudes no one is carefree. No one's perfect. No one ever will be either. It's time that we all stopped pretending that there are some people out there that don't have any problems because it's a lie. Everyone has secrets and everyone has their own past to haunt them. I guess Sawyer learned that the hard way this morning.

(No point of view)

Everyone stopped to stare at Hurley for a second before laughing all over again. Really there was nothing that funny… it just felt good to laugh after all the stress hanging over the island lately.

"Well what's up Hurley? Not thinking of attacking me again are you? And what are you doing so far from camp?" Sawyer sneered but finally stopped when Kate sent a death glare in his direction. Hurley ignored the first few questions and instead only answered the last one.

"Well… I'm not far from camp at all… you guys are the ones that are in it," Hurley stated in a bored voice. The others looked around in surprise. They had waltzed right into camp laughing their heads off.

"_Great…" _Jack thought to himself, "_Everyone must think that I'm a complete loon!"_ He scowled and Kate's own high spirits fell. It was always much better when Jack was laughing or smiling. Suddenly an excited looking Claire ran up to the group, clutching Aaron closely to her.

"Michael! You really are back!" she nearly shouted and didn't notice the dark look that crossed Charlie's face at this comment.

"Well it's not like I was making it up or anything!" Charlie exclaimed somewhat furiously. Claire stared at Charlie like a deer in the headlights for a minute. She opened her mouth a few times as if to say something to him but nothing came out. Everyone shifted uncomfortably. Finally Claire decided to attempt to save her dignity by facing Michael, mumbling her good to see you, and walked quickly away.

"Well… I've got somewhere to be right now… someone's calling me I think… see ya later Mikey," Sawyer finally said and he strode off quickly. Jin motioned to Sun and nearly took off at a run.

"Umm… well I should probably get down to Locke and relieve him of the creature," Jack growled (referring to Gale of course) and made his way over there.

"Wait, I'll come with you Jack! With Locke on crutches you'll need all the help you can get," Kate suggested and Jack certainly didn't refuse. Kate cast a meaningful look in Charlie's direction and strode off with Jack.

"So…" Charlie began to Hurley, "You and that chick Libby snog yet?"

"What is that even supposed to mean dude?" Hurley asked, genuinely confused. Charlie laughed slightly.

"Sorry… it's a British term… you all in America probably don't recognize it." There was another awkward silence between the two when finally Hurley just blurted out something.

"You should go talk to her dude," was all he said and then he walked awkwardly off to his tent. Charlie sat there dumbfounded for a moment, wondering what to do. Somewhere in the distance Charlie heard a faint, "Hey Libby? What does snog mean?" Meanwhile Jin and Sun were certainly having an interesting conversation.

"So how is Michael?" Sun asked to Jin in Korean. Jin shrugged slightly and smiled at her.

"He's alive… sadly he couldn't find Walt though," Jin replied (also in Korean).

"Is he okay about it? I mean was he depressed or upset?" Jin's face darkened for a moment until he replied shortly.

"How would you feel if you couldn't find your son? How would you feel knowing that They have your child?" Jin said angrily. Sun shrank back slightly in fear.

"I-I was just wanting to know…" Sun stuttered slightly until Jin cut her off again.

"Why would you even care Sun? If I could've gone out to find him maybe we could've found Walt together. But you were too afraid for me weren't you?" Jin was now shouting at Sun. Sun's rebellious side kicked in and this side of her decided she didn't like Jin yelling at her.

"Was it wrong to fear for the man that I love? Although now I see I should've been more afraid of you than for you Jin!" Sun screamed back and she left Jin feeling alone and stupid.

"So how have you been Kate?" Jack asked casually as the both of them walked through the jungle. Kate just shrugged.

"Oh you know… the usual. Keeping an eye out for mysterious monsters, the creepy Others that live on the island, and witnessing the survivor's random panic attacks," Kate replied, laughing slightly. Jack grinned and it made Kate much happier. Just knowing that she could make him laugh was a blessing. Suddenly his grin faded to a slight frown and Kate got worried. "What's wrong?" Jack shook his head slightly.

"I was just…" Jack began but he changed his mind quickly. "I guess you have a right to know this Kate. I hate having to lie so here it goes. We have one of Them in the hatch locked up in the armory. What I told you about the showers the other night was just a way to keep you from finding him." Jack looked at her with a steady face and Kate just stared blankly for a second. The she replied shakily but firmly.

"Wow… you doctors really don't get a day off do you?" Kate said with a small smile.

Charlie still stood on the beach undecided. The thought of talking to Claire made him want to run back to his little spot by the jungle but reason talked him out of it.

"_It's been plenty of time… you're clean and Locke is being kept up in the hatch due to an injured leg. Go for it! Show her you're good qualities!" _Charlie drew a deep breath and walked forward to Claire's tent. He found her rocking Aaron in his cradle and he paused for a moment to gaze at them. Not wanting to spend too much time doing that though he made his presence known. "Hi Claire."

"Charlie!" Claire cried, obviously shocked to see him there. On instinct she moved in front of Aaron's crib in a protective gesture. Seeing her do this made Charlie wince but he didn't say anything. "Look Charlie… what I said earlier… well… I didn't mean it that way. Really." She attempted a smile in his direction but Charlie didn't have the courage to smile back.

"That's all right… I overreacted a bit. I know that's not the way you meant it." After that they both stood there in an awkward silence.

"So… did you need anything Charlie?" Charlie looked up as if startled and he shifted uncomfortably. Claire saw something in his eyes… it was a desperate look. Like a trapped animal that needed to run away. Jack had mentioned this look to her before but she never really believed it was true… until right then. She was about to say something to Charlie when he hastily excused himself and nearly ran out of the tent. Claire looked after him and longed to be able to trust him again.

**A/N: Okay there you go… all done! You know what… writing from Hurley's perspective is fun. You get to use words like dude a lot… sorry anyways please review! I need some feedback! Oh and I know that in one of the episodes Kate saw Gale but I'm just pretending that she wasn't there to see him… sorry it just kind of worked out that way.**


	6. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

**A/N: Hello again! Well I hope this chapter is angsty enough… lol! Jack and Kate fight (sorry, sorry, sorry!) , Charlie receives interesting advice from Eko, and Michael discovers something about Mr. Henry Gale. Read on if you want… **

**Disclaimer: I don't own LOST… if I did though boy I sure would be rich right now… **

(Sun's point of view)

I love Jin more than anything. Don't make any mistake of that. It's just that he has this temper that he can't always control. I get so sick of it, him being sweet and loving one minute and then raving and dangerous the next. I don't know what to make of it usually. Normally I end up getting angry and leaving him alone for a while. I know it hurts him when I do this but it's usually the only way that I can get through to him that I can't stand his frequent mood swings. Oh I don't know anymore, I hate that I had to lie to him about that baby. Although I might not have been… the child might have been Jin's but my mind keeps telling me that it's not. If only I didn't feel so guilty every time that Jin strokes my slowly growing stomach.

(No point of view)

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Charlie scolded himself as he nearly ran away from Claire's tent. "She was right there in front of me but I had to get scared and run! Why?" Charlie cried and was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't realize that someone was listening to him.

"Why do you think you are stupid?" Eko asked in his heavily accented voice. Charlie was clearly startled but looked relived when he saw it was only Eko and not some kind of whacked out Other.

"Oh you know, the usual. I had the opportunity to say to Claire everything that I've been feeling these past few days and I ran off like some nut job!" Eko smiled slightly at the way that Charlie managed to use sarcasm even when he was upset.

"That does not make you stupid Charlie. Everyone reacts differently to pressure," Eko replied reasonably. Charlie just shook his head.

"No I have never handled pressure that way before. I used to always tackle it head on, I get it from my father I suppose," Charlie insisted. Eko smiled and seemed like he knew something Charlie didn't.

"Have you ever been in love before Charlie?" Charlie looked taken aback by this statement and had to grope for the right words to respond with.

"I thought I was… once…" Charlie muttered and Eko's smile widened.

"The answer remains right in front of your nose and yet you cannot see two inches in front of you," Eko replied mysteriously. "Did you ever consider that you have more than friendly feelings towards Claire? Perhaps love?" Eko waited a moment for a reaction from Charlie and then walked away. Charlie on the other hand looked stunned at this new idea of… _love. _

"Okay Kate, don't be alarmed by Henry here. He might try to tell you his sob story about his supposed wife and air balloon but he's already admitted to us that he's an Other. He's good with words." Kate nodded at Jack to show that she understood and Jack slowly swung the door to the hatch open. Inside Locke, Ana, and Sayid were all bunched in a corner and frequently cast shifty glances towards the armory door. At the sight of Ana though, the once calm and reasonable Kate was raging.

"Ana knew about this! I'm the one that was here on this beach with YOU since the beginning but Ana knew about this before I did? Am I one of the last freaking people on the island to know Jack?" Jack looked surprised at Kate's sudden outburst and looked lost for words.

"Kate… I didn't tell Ana! It was Locke's idea and…" Kate glared at Jack and interrupted him in mid sentence.

"That's not the real issue here Jack! The real issue is that you had to have known that Ana was in on this and you still didn't tell me? Am I really that far out of the loop Jack? Am I officially kicked out of your club now?" Kate was now close to tears and if Jack didn't have a reputation to hold up then he might have had some tears in his eyes as well. He didn't realize how hurt Kate must've felt. Then he realized how much hurt SHE was causing him and his guilt was replaced with anger.

"Well maybe you should've thought about that before you decided to randomly kiss me and then run away!" Jack shouted and the hatch was silent. Jack didn't realize how terrible his words sounded until he had screamed them and now the silence was deafening. Kate shook her head in disbelief and without another word left the hatch. The silence remained until there was a muffled cry from the armory.

"Sounds like Jack's got some woman issues!" Henry shouted from his little prison. Everyone ignored him and Ana was the next to speak.

"Well… Jack I didn't know that you and Kate had a little thing going on." Suddenly Michael burst through the hatch door and demanded,

"Where is he?"

Everyone looked in shock at Michael until Locke pointed to the armory door with one of his crutches. Jack without really thinking put the combination in for Michael and he stormed into the armory. As soon as Henry and Michael's eyes met the whole room seemed to be filled with hostility.

"You," Michael snarled dangerously. Gale only sneered in response. "You are the one that caught me! You are the one that tried to kill me. You are the one that told me gruesome tales about my son." Gale only stared back with that sneer still firmly in place. Michael was silent until suddenly he pulled his fist out and hit Gale right across the face. Gale let out a little yelp and suddenly Michael was pounding every inch of Henry that he could get to until Sayid yanked him off. Raving and hysterical Michael tried to push Sayid away so he could get back to Henry but it was too late. The armory door was shut and locked again.

"Michael! Michael calm down!" Sayid shouted and Ana reached over to help Sayid control Michael. Jack just sort of watched with a dazed look on his face for a moment and then finally seemed to come to and helped by dumping a random pitcher of cold water on Michael's face. This left Michael spluttering, cold, and wet on the ground but he had stopped flailing around. Everyone stared in surprise at Jack for a while.

"What? You mean none of you ever tried that before?"

**A/N: I know… kind of a weird spot to end it but I ran out of ideas. So please, please, please review! I get way more hits than reviews and I would like to change a little bit. Thank you! **


	7. Men troubles

**A/N: Okay… another angsty chapter (I hope) though not much to do with Jate… okay here you go! **

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned LOST… then I could make Jack cry all the time… **

(Jin's point of view)

I'll admit it… I have a bit of a temper. I didn't always used to be like this though. It was only after I started to work for Sun's father when the temper started up. He trained me to flare up when I didn't get what I wanted and to remain calm and cool when things were going my way. It's become a part of me even though I hate it. It's affected Sun a lot though because she has a mind of her own. She disobeys me and constantly challenges me and it causes the angry side of me to take over. Sun doesn't know though that I love her free and independent spirit. All the time I watch her and wish that I could be more like her and less like me. It hurts me when I yell at her or destroy the things she loves in a fit of anger. Not only does it hurt me emotionally but also then I have no way of speaking with the other survivors besides my hand gestures. I never remember how much I need and love Sun until she's distant from me and isn't there to support me. I take many things for granted and Sun is one of them.

(No point of view)

Sun sat in her tent, fighting the tears back. She thought about Jin and how angry she was with him and how much he hurt her. Just at that moment though Kate stormed past her tent with tears streaming down her own face. Worried for Kate, Sun forgot about her Jin problems and dashed out to see if Kate was alright.

"Kate! Kate wait!" Sun saw Kate visibly tense but slow down when she recognized her voice. Sun took that as a sign of permission and dashed over to Kate's side. "What's going on Kate?" Sun asked with concern etched in her voice.

"It's nothing!" Kate lashed out savagely at Sun. Kate's fierce look immediately faded though once she saw the hurt and confusion written on Sun's face. "I'm sorry Sun but… it's too complicated to explain."

"Is it about Jack?" Sun suggested and Kate's eyes nearly popped out of her head. Sun smiled weakly at Kate's reaction and didn't need any other explanation. "I suppose it's a woman thing… to know when another woman is having men problems." Kate smiled softly but she also noticed that Sun's own eyes were slightly puffy and red.

"How's Jin?" Kate asked casually but immediately dropped it when she saw anger and sadness flash across Sun's face. Sun appreciated the effort but wanted desperately to turn the conversation back towards Kate.

"So… do you want to talk about it?" Kate hesitated for a moment but finally unleashed her emotions starting with the kiss and then everything after that. Sun nodded in understanding and gave the best advice she could think of.

"I think that if you want to stop hurting so much you need to just talk to Jack. Maybe you could even tell him what you just told me," Sun said wisely but Kate didn't buy it. She smiled anyway and thanked Sun gently.

"Thanks Sun… for listening to me. I don't think I've ever put so much confidence in one person… if you don't mind though I think I might want to be alone for a while." Sun nodded and left Kate to her thoughts.

Kate settled herself on her favorite spot on the beach and merely watched the waves for a moment. Her thoughts immediately turned to Jack though and their last conversation together.

"_Am I really that far out of the loop Jack? Am I officially kicked out of your club now?" _

"_Well maybe you should've thought about that before you decided to randomly kiss me and then run away!" _

Kate constantly beat herself up about that kiss. Not really the fact that she had kissed Jack but more that she chose that particular moment to kiss him and then get so confused and upset that she just left him there. She knew it wasn't fair to Jack but she didn't know what else to do. Kate buried her head in her arms and began to sob in them. She made so many mistakes in her real life and now… Kate continued to sob at this thought. She remembered Jack on the beach that day when she had tried to tell him about her past.

"_Everyone deserves a second chance…"_

Kate sobbed even harder because she knew that now she was screwing up her new life. The life that she had started on this island was getting worse and worse.

"_I'm worthless… Jack doesn't deserve a screw up like me anyway. He would probably only want to fix me anyway! What if I don't want to be fixed? I know now that I don't want to be Jack's newest project!" _Kate thought, savagely attacking herself and then rounding on Jack. She saw that wedding ring that he kept hidden all the time. _"Was she just a project too? Once she was fixed he dropped her for someone else who was broken?"_ This thought sent Kate over the edge and she decided right then and there that she wanted nothing more to do with the survivors or Jack. Standing up Kate ran at break neck speed to the jungle, enjoying the thrill of the unknown and danger that she was plunging into. She always did.

Meanwhile Sun was dreaming of a distant memory. It was of a time after she was married and taking English classes.

"_Jin! How come you're home so early?" an excited Sun cried as her husband walked through the door three hours early. Jin smiled at his wife and gave her a tender kiss on the top of her head. _

"_You're father decided that I should come home early to see you. He knows and I know that you get lonely here." Sun smiled a brilliant smile. _

"_Well that's great! I wasn't going to start on dinner for another hour or so but I can put something quick together for us!" she exclaimed excitedly and Jin nodded his head. _

"_I'm going to go get changed out of these work clothes and take a quick breather." Sun nodded and there was concern in her eyes. She knew that her father over worked Jin and that most days when he did come home when she was awake he just went to bed without a word to her. It pained her to see him so stressed all the time. Pushing these concerns behind her Sun preheated the oven and began working on Jin's favorite meal. While she was waiting for water to boil she saw Jin's briefcase was still sitting on the floor. Deciding to take it to her and Jin's room for Jin she lifted it up to carry it. The only thing was once she lifted it up the lid popped off and all of it's contents spilled out. Sun suppressed a cry of shock as she saw knives that had a rusty color on them (she later recognized it as dried blood), blood stained shirts, pictures of people that were labeled with either "Owes Money" or "Threat", and a list of names. Just at that moment Jin popped his head out to ask what the wonderful smell coming from the kitchen was. _

"_Sun…" the words dropped from his mouth though when he saw Sun standing there with the open briefcase and its spilled contents. "What are you doing Sun." Jin didn't ask it like a question though. Sun stared like a deer caught in the headlights for a moment but then began her excuse. _

"_Well… I thought that you might like it… if I put your briefcase away for you… but when I picked it up…" Sun didn't get to finish though because Jin was now close to yelling. _

"_How many times do I have to tell you NEVER to touch my things from work Sun!" Jin bellowed. Sun shrank back in fear, Jin can be pretty intimidating when he's angry. _

"_I'm sorry Jin… i-it was an accident! Can we just pretend that it didn't happen…" _

"_NO WE CAN'T SUN!" Jin yelled and he slapped Sun in his fit of rage. There was a tense silence where the two just stared at each other. Sun carefully picked herself up from the floor (the slap knocked her down) glared at Jin and ran. She ran from the apartment and tried to ignore Jin yelling her name after her. Suddenly she found herself at the apartment where she learned English. Sun remembered what happened at the last lesson… her teacher had implied that he loved her more than Jin and at the moment she believed it to be true. Taking a deep breath Sun opened the apartment door and closed it carefully behind her. _

Sun woke up in surprise and in tears. Jin heard her sobs from outside the tent and rushed to her side.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Jin asked quickly in Korean but Sun just shrank away from him.

"Get away from me! Get away from me Jin!" she screamed and looking hurt, Jin left.

**A/N: Okay… I lied… there was quite a bit of Jate angst in that chapter… that wasn't particularly FUN to write but it was interesting to write. Please review!**


	8. Funny men in beards

**A/N: Well here's the next chapter. I went a little crazy with this chapter… oh well! Now I really do promise that there isn't any Jate in this chapter. Sorry but I had to focus on other things for a moment. Anyway, read and enjoy!**

(Sawyer's point of view)

Well how can I describe my experience on the island thus far… umm… how about… disturbing… umm… emotionally stressful… and aggravating. All though those funny men in khakis and beards are one hell of a kick. And how about that monster that rips people in two and leaves them strung out on trees for the whole damn island to see? Lets just say that through all of this tension, fear, and frustration I began to find myself. Then I realized that I didn't like the me that I found and stopped trying to look for it. I've done a lot of bad things in my life and I'm still doing it on this island. Zebra's can't changer their stripes. I know that ain't the saying but it sounds pretty cool don't it?

(No point of view)

Everyone in the hatch stared blankly at the soaked Michael on the ground. Finally Sayid broke the silence.

"When did you get back Michael?" he asked casually. Michael was silent for a moment and then replied.

"Oh about ten or twenty minutes ago. So how are things here?" Everyone was silent and Michael nodded. "Yeah… I pretty much figured that's how things were going here…"

"So Michael…" Locke began and Michael winced, "Planning on locking me in the armory any time soon?" It took all of Michael's will power not to snap back at Locke viciously.

"Well John… you realize that I was desperate at the time. I didn't know what else to do." Locke didn't look very convinced but remained silent all the same.

"So… where did you find the rat?" Michael asked and motioned to the armory. Sayid smiled grimly as he began to explain.

"Crazy French woman… need I say more?" Michael laughed hoarsely. Silence reigned after that until a desperate looking Claire burst into the hatch.

"Jack! Jack come quick! Charlie's hurt!"

Kate sprinted through the trees, swerving and dodging branches as she went. The jungle seemed to pass by in a blur but Kate didn't care. All she cared about was the adrenaline pumping through her veins and how fast her heart was beating. Closing her eyes Kate ran blindly, not caring if she fell or hit a tree. This was good to Kate. She loved the feeling that running brought her. Finally though her lungs couldn't get enough air and Kate had to finally stop running. Panting and exhausted Kate stood in the middle of a clearing trying to get her bearings. Unfortunately Kate realized that she hadn't ever been here before. At first she panicked but then remembered that this was what she wanted. To disappear entirely and live on her own here. Breathing in a deep breath Kate began to walk to where she was going to bed for the night. She just hoped that no one would find her here, either the survivors or the Others.

Charlie laid on the ground gasping for air and struggling to remain conscious. He didn't know exactly what was wrong but he did know that it hurt bad. He was just thankful that Claire had been walking by at that moment. Otherwise he might have been stuck out here all night.

"Stupid, bloody drop. Stupid bloody rocks! Stupid bloody ledge!" he muttered darkly. Charlie had been out walking when all of a sudden he just toppled off some sort of ledge. He wasn't even that far out in the jungle either! Well anyway there, of course, were a ton of rocks all the way down the ten foot drop and Charlie managed to hit each of them on his way down. Now he was down there bleeding to death and probably broken half of his body.

"_Wait… what the bloody hell was Claire doing down here? It obviously wasn't a safe area and she would've had to have left the baby unattended!" _Charlie soon stopped worrying about that though because he found that he was losing consciousness. Charlie finally slipped into darkness and didn't remember anything more.

"Claire what do you mean Charlie's hurt?" Jack asked stupidly. Claire rolled her eyes.

" I mean that Charlie… you know the little British man that says 'bloody' all the time? Yeah he's hurt bad out in the jungle," Claire explained slowly as if Jack was stupid. Jack seemed to finally register this and took off after Claire out of the hatch, not before shouting to the others to stay put though. The other people in the hatch sat in silence.

"Well things certainly have gotten quieter than the last time I've been here," Michael said sarcastically. Meanwhile Jack and Claire were sprinting at top speed to where Charlie was. All though instead of taking the hard way down to Charlie Claire took a detour so that she ended up at the bottom of the ledge. Jack showed up after her and saw the unconscious Charlie on the ground. Jack immediately kneeled down to see what he had to work with.

"Well… is he okay?" Claire asked nervously. Jack turned Charlie slightly to show there was a large rock jutting from his side. Claire gasped in surprise in horror at the sight.

"He must have hit a loose one on the way down here and it stuck… I don't know how deep it is in his side so I don't know if it hit something like a blood vessel or something of that nature. He also obviously has several breaks," Jack said motioning to Charlie's now oddly placed arm. Claire nodded, obviously horrified.

"Will he live?" Jack shrugged and looked sorrowful.

"I honestly don't know Claire. I need to see the extent of the damage to really say yes or no. Will you help me carry him to the hatch?" Dawn was breaking by the time that Claire and Jack made it back to the hatch with the limp Charlie.

"Finally!" Ana exclaimed as the two made their way into the hatch. "We were starting to get ready to call the navy or something." Jack only nodded and then laid Charlie out on a couch. Sawyer burst into the hatch as well at that moment ranting about cigarettes or something before surveying the disaster in front of him.

"Whoa! I knew you were crazy Jack but I didn't think you would stretch so far as to kill one of us! I thought it was my job to be the ass!" Sawyer added this last bit somewhat darkly. Jack rolled his eyes and ignored Sawyer as best as he could.

"Okay, well we better stop the bleeding as best we can for now and then I can examine him further…" Jack was cut off by another loud interruption in the hatch. It was Libby, of all people.

"Jack come quick…" but she was cut off by a frustrated shout from Jack.

"God can't you people just take care of yourselves for one minute!" Libby looked stunned by his outburst but didn't really take it personally.

"I'm really sorry Jack, I see that you have a situation but I just thought that you should know that we can't find Kate." Jack stood quietly as he thought for a moment. One look at Charlie though and he knew what he had to do right then even though his heart was telling him otherwise.

"Kate will have to wait for a minute."

**A/N: See! I didn't really lie this time! Lol! Okay… well read and review and maybe I'll save Charlie… lol! It's up to you guys. :D It's fun having the power…**


	9. Brilliant just brilliant!

**A/N: Well here is my new chapter, we're already at chapter 9 yay! Hopefully it will answer some questions you may have and create new questions. Anyway, stop reading this author's note and read the story! **

(Ana's point of view)

I'm an out cast, it's obvious to everyone. I even figured out that it was just me because the others from my group were accepted without question. It's because of Shannon and I'm sorry about that but people have to get over it. I mean if it really was an Other in that jungle then I bet I would be hailed as a hero right now and not a villain. I don't like being the bad guy but it usually plays out that way for me, it sucks. I suppose I am stubborn though and that is part of my problem with these folks. They all know each other and work together but they don't know what to do about me because I'm not in synch with them. Maybe I should try harder to fit in… but then again it was always kind of fun to be the rebel of the group.

(No point of view)

Kate woke to the blinding sunlight and half expected Sawyer to pop his unruly head in exclaiming "Good morning sunshine!" Then she remembered that she was in the middle of a jungle where no one new where she was.

"Brilliant Kate just brilliant!" Kate muttered to herself, "I'm so damn impulsive… why must I always do things that I regret later. I have no freaking clue where I am and probably could wander aimlessly in the jungle for years!" Kate stood to survey her surroundings and heard a faint trickling sound to the left. Curious, Kate headed out in that direction until the faint trickling became a deafening roar. Before her Kate saw a waterfall that fed into a large pool, much larger than the one that she and Sawyer found. Raising her eyebrows in interest Kate mentally measured the radius of the pool and came up with about 50 feet around all-together. "Well things are looking up slightly, I found water," Kate thought to herself and smiled even more when she saw fish swimming in the water.

"Are you sure that she can wait Jack, because I have to tell the others something," Libby said quietly. Jack only considered for about two seconds before responding.

"If someone else wants to conduct a search party for her that's great, but Charlie really is the one that needs the immediate attention. Sorry." Jack felt sick to think that Sawyer was probably the one that would go looking for Kate but Charlie would die without instant medical care. Jack managed to swallow his feelings for the moment and forced a smile at Libby. Libby saw through the smile though and nodded knowingly.

"That's fine Jack, I know that you want to be the one to find her, we can wait if you want." Jack shrugged but smiled graciously at her. He immediately turned back to Charlie when he heard an impatient cough from Claire's direction and began to figure out a plan to help him. Everyone heard the hatch slam shut behind Libby as she left and Locke flinched.

"Do we really have to slam the door when we come and go? It's not like we have to warn everyone that we're in here and then tell everyone when we leave!" Locke shouted irritably. Jack just ignored Locke and finally came up with a solution.

"I'm going to have to cut the rock from his side and then try to suppress the immense blood that will come from the wound. Now I need someone to be ready to hand me this cloth when the time comes." Jack was extremely surprised when Claire stepped forward.

"I'll do it," Claire stated boldly and Jack looked uncertain.

"Claire are you sure you want to do this? I mean…" but Jack was cut off by Claire.

"I can handle myself Jack I've been around blood plenty of times in my life," Claire snapped. She quickly softened her tone though when she saw Jack look slightly hurt. "I just want to make sure that Charlie is okay," Claire said pleadingly and Jack nodded.

"Okay… well lets get started!"

No one noticed when Sawyer slipped carefully and quietly out of the hatch, partially because he doesn't do well around blood and also because he had something planned. Suddenly he saw Jin walking quickly in his direction and Sawyer noticed that he didn't look happy.

"Hey partner what's the matter?" When Jin just glared in response Sawyer said again slower, "What's wrong?" Jin seemed to finally understand and began to speak rapidly in Korean. "Who slow down buddy, help me out a little here!" Jin seemed to concentrate fiercely and then began in his forced English.

"Not… your… business," Jin said slowly and darkly. He then pushed past Sawyer and then shouted out behind him, "Sun!" Sawyer nearly laughed but knew that Jin would probably kill him for it so he waited until Jin was out of sight to chuckle a little bit.

"That poor boy has a little fire-ball on his hands," Sawyer thought to himself. Then he remembered the reason for his quest. "Kate," he muttered. No way was he going to let Jack save Charlie _and _rescue the girl either. No way, it was Sawyer's turn to show that he could be the hero just like Jack could. Suddenly the idea of talking to Sun seemed like a good idea. She had been the only other female on the island that Kate could've talked to, since Libby obviously didn't know what happened and Claire was busy with Charlie. Walking with a newfound purpose Sawyer began his trek back to the beach.

Claire flinched slightly in horror when the rock finally was able to get out. All the blood that poured from the wound was disgusting but she managed to help Jack press the cloth against the wound.

"Quick Claire go see if you can find more towels or something to block this," Jack muttered and Claire bounded off. The others that had been in the hatch had to do other things at the time except for Locke but he wasn't much help. Claire did feel a little bad for him for a moment, not being able to walk and all, but quickly focused back on the towels. Of course every single one of the towels were white but Claire grabbed them anyways.

"Here Jack!" she cried and threw down the towels. Jack grabbed one and placed it on top of the other. When the bottom one became too soaked Jack handed it to Claire who then dumped it in the sink, the closest place she could put it. Finally the bleeding slowed enough for Jack to take the clothes off and fully examine the wound. Jack took a quick look at Claire and saw that her bright blue eyes and fair face were rigid and filled with fear. Also her hands had Charlie's blood all over them but she didn't seem to notice so much.

"I'm going to have to cut in a little more to make sure that nothing vital has been disrupted by the rock and make sure that the blood stream is clean. Once that is taken care of we can stitch him back up and he should be fine," Jack finally said weakly in an attempt to make Claire feel better. He relaxed as the fear seemed to fall slightly from her face and she breathed a deep breath.

"Amazing isn't it, how long you can hold your breath before you realize that your not breathing?" Jack chuckled at Claire's statement but then returned to the task at hand. The battle wasn't over yet and he knew it.

**A/N: Okay well now that's over. Now I want some input from you guys, for my next chapter should I focus more on Kate in the jungle, more on Charlie and his surgery, Sun and Jin's relationship, or Sawyer's plan to rescue Kate. I'm also open to new plot lines if you all think that I'm leaving something out. Just review and let me know! Thanks!**


	10. Unconditional Love and jungle troubles

**A/N: Hello everyone, again. This was a hard chapter to write because of the terrible events of last week. I just don't know what to do with some of my characters right now… anyway thanks for everyone who suggested the main focus for this chapter! **

(Eko's point of view)

The people on this island turn to me for advice, any advice in their daily lives. I don't know why… perhaps it's because I told them I was a priest and they believe that priests can always be trusted. Too bad I was never registered as an actual priest, I might have actually succeeded at it. I've listened to more confessions than I can count and even baptized a baby and his mother. Currently I am working on a church for the island with the ex-druggie Charlie. Mainly I asked him to help because he seemed so lost and helpless all the time. If only my brother could see the new life I have formed on the island, I'm so much happier doing good deeds than I ever was doing bad things. I know that he would've been proud of me and that he wouldn't flinch anymore when he looked at me. He would be able to look me squarely in the eye and let me know that what I was doing was good. Not only that but I could stare him in the face without feeling guilty and upset at the same time. But it's too late, because of me my brother is dead. I suppose that's really why I'm doing all this for the survivors on the island. I owe it to my brother after all.

(No point of view)

Sun sat staring blankly at the canvas wall of her tent. She carefully examined every bump, every line, and every crease in this particular wall. And yet despite this she couldn't get rid of the thoughts of Jin. She saw the look in his eyes when she had screamed at him a few hours ago. Hurt and anguish had filled them and he seemed to know that he had finally lost her. That she wouldn't go back to him again this time. No matter how many times that Sun tried to tell herself that this was the way things were meant to be though she had doubts.

"_What if I was being too emotional, too temperamental, judged him too much…" _Sun thought to herself. Instantly feeling stubborn again Sun shook her head fiercely as though to shake these awful thoughts from her mind.

"_He yelled at me! He's hit me before and he's never fully appreciated me! Why should I go back to him again only to continue being hurt?" _Sun thought savagely. She felt these two conflicting emotions consume her yet again and she felt ready to bubble up over the surface. Struggling to maintain her calm Sun told herself again and again that she didn't have to let this show. That she could keep this all bottled up inside of her and that this would blow over soon and she could think clearly again. Something in her mind revolted against this idea though and suddenly Sun went from simmering to bursting into terrible flames. She screamed as loud as she could and suddenly began to beat the wall of her tent that she had been staring at previously until it fell over on top of her. Still screaming and sobbing, she beat her blankets and thrashed against the slowly sagging tent. Her pillow was nearly torn in half and the small bag with her own personal items in it was ripped with the contents strewn all over the tent. Finally the tent completely collapsed on her and she was pinned underneath it. Sun gradually stopped thrashing and just laid still, sobbing quietly now. Sun curled into a ball underneath the tent and just stayed there crying her eyes out, finally letting out all the emotion that she had been feeling the last several years. Suddenly the tent was being lifted from her and a concerned face filled her vision.

"Jin," Sun finally croaked out as she squinted through her now swollen eyes and avoided the thin sunlight. Jin nodded and looked confused as to whether he should help her out of the tent or leave her alone. The two just looked at each other silently for a while and Sun seemed to have a little battle going on in her head. She knew that part of her outburst was the fact that she would probably never leave this island and the other part was Jin. She stared at his eyes and she saw real sorrow and regret but she also saw unconditional love. And it was this very same love that always brought her back to Jin, always. Letting out a strangled cry Sun threw herself at Jin and he caught her. She then cried into his shoulder and gripped his arms as tightly as she could. Jin let her cry while gently rubbing her back. Finally he whispered something to her in Korean.

"I'm sorry Sun… for everything. Do you mind if I ask you let go of my arms because I'm losing the circulation." Sun laughed and released him. Jin couldn't tell now if she was still crying or just started laughing.

Kate rose to the surface, spluttering and gasping for air. She wasn't even able to reach the bottom of the pool it was so deep. Not to mention icy cold. But this seemed to be a good combination for Kate's sore muscles and she just swam around for a moment. Finally she pulled herself back to the sandy surface and attempted to dry off, though she found it difficult as she didn't bring a towel with her. Suddenly, and unbidden, Kate remembered the last time that she took a shower. She stifled a giggle as she remembered that Jack had caught her on the way out. He had nearly blushed from embarrassment and though Kate would never admit it she could feel her own ears and face burning from blushing. When she remembered Jack though and what he said to her last was enough to wipe the smile off her face. Hastily Kate left the side of the beach and gathered her jeans and shirt again and slipped them on. The sun had warmed them so it felt nice on her still chilled body. Pulling her hair tie out again Kate quickly fixed her wet curls into a messy ponytail. As she was doing this though she heard a rustling in the trees next to her. Kate froze in terror and her pulse reached sky high when the rustling took place again only closer. Breathing hard Kate tried to swallow her fear and looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it was that followed her.

Sawyer sat in his tent going over the plan yet again. Making a mental checklist in his mind Sawyer began to count off on his fingers everything that he needed to do.

"_Okay one… I need to make a heartfelt speech to the village folk about how much Kate means to me and that I'll stop at nothing to find her… yada, yada…" _Sawyer grinned at the neat little speech that he had written on the back of his slightly burnt manuscript. He already knew that Johnny was the one who killed Count Black so he didn't need to read any further.

"_Two… I'll recruit all the people that want to help me and give them all guns,"_ Sawyer flinched at the thought of so many people with guns but knew that it was necessary to the plot of his story.

"_Three… I talk to sweet little Sun about where she saw Kate last and head in that direction. I just hope that she left some kind of freaking trail for us to follow…"_ Sawyer cocked his head and looked at his speech. Suddenly he grabbed his pen and made a few adjustments to it and looked satisfied again.

"_Four… I find poor little lost Kate and bring her back to camp. Jack loses the girl of his dreams, I gain the only eligible girl on the island (besides Ana but she freaks me out), and the respect of the survivors,"_ Sawyer laughed heartily at his little scheme and now only needed to wait for the opportune moment to spring this on the survivors.

"Jack… Jack are you sure that's supposed to look like that?" Claire asked cautiously. Jack suppressed a groan because that was the fourth time that Claire interrupted him.

"Yes Claire… I am absolutely, positively sure that that particular bone is supposed to look like that. I was also sure the last time that you asked me," Jack snapped, beginning to lose his patience. Claire flinched and looked apologetic.

"Sorry Jack… I'll keep quiet now…" Jack nearly breath a sigh of relief but instead smiled in her direction.

"He'll be okay Claire, I promise you that," Jack's voice was steady and even and to Claire he seemed to be confident. Looking once more at Charlie, Claire nodded and focused on keeping quiet.

Kate still stood in the clearing, barely daring to breath for fear of bringing the rustling back. It was eerily silent, not even the normal chirping of birds or rustling of grass took place. It even seemed that the waterfall had stopped making noise. Kate knew that something was about to happen and she was ready for it.

"Where are you?" she hissed in frustration. Suddenly there was gentle rustle to Kate's left, and Kate felt terror that she had never felt before when she finally saw what was entering the clearing.

**A/N: So tell me what you all think… did you hate it? Love it? Have suggestions? I'm always eager to know you're thoughts and opinions. **


	11. Mission Save Freckles and Dis Jack!

**A/N: Well here is the next chapter of this story… sorry it's so late in coming but I had writers block… anyway just to let you know… Ana and Libby did not die in this story but Gale did escape and Michael is an Other… I just didn't mention the Michael part yet. Anyway stop reading this confusing Author's Note and read the story. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own LOST but I do own Mission Save Freckles and Dis Jack! Yay!**

(Locke's point of view)

I don't have much to believe in, despite my constant speeches about faith. Really nothing in my life has ever gone right, except for when I first came to this island. I could walk, run, hunt if I wanted because the island healed my legs. Now here I am in crutches because the hatch door closed on my legs. It reminds me how little I could do without the use of my legs. And now I find out about the button from the hatch. The only thing that I had anymore to put my small amount of faith in was snatched right from under me. The thing that I had spent slaving away for for about the last month turns out to be some kind of whacked out experiment for some scientists' enjoyment. If there was anyone still on duty in that main hatch then they probably had a good laugh at me defending the button so fiercely against Jack… turns out he was right all along. When does a guy get a break? That's what I ask you.

(No point of view)

Kate stared at the man that was slowly and cautiously approaching her in the clearing. His clothes were worn and faded and to her horror Kate noticed that he wore a pair of khakis. Every Other that she had seen on this island wore khakis of some kind.

"It's all right… I just want to know where I am!" the man cried out in a hoarse voice. Kate shook her head fiercely and backed up a few steps. "Please I'm lost… I was in an airplane then all of a sudden I was on this island. I've had to fend for myself for the longest time! Please help me!" the man pleaded to Kate.

"I'm sorry… but I don't believe you!" Kate shouted angrily at the man. His dark hair was a little too long and matted and she saw his blue eyes flash in anger when she refused to help him.

"Well then… you'll just have to come with us then won't you missy?" the man now asked in a cold and hard voice. Suddenly there were people everywhere and Kate was pulled to the ground helplessly.

Jack grimaced as he placed his last stitch in Charlie's side. Reality was that Charlie had lost too much blood and he had slipped into a slightly coma type state. He could feel Claire's eyes upon him and Jack knew he didn't have to say anything to her. She already knew.

"Jack… Jack what are we supposed to do?" Claire cried in agony. She had expected Charlie to wake up as soon as the operation was over but he was still just laying there. Jack shook his head lightly and sighed.

"Well all we can really do is move him carefully to a comfortable spot, force feed him, give him water, and pain medication. Then we wait to see if he will wake up. I might even have to give him a blood transfusion because he lost a lot of blood in the fall and in the surgery." Jack looked tired and worn and all he wanted to do was pass out. Maybe if he slept long enough all of this would go away. There wouldn't be a sick Charlie lying in the hatch, he wouldn't be the only doctor on the island, his plane wouldn't have crashed here, and there would be no Kate to haunt his dreams.

"So that's it… we can't do anything else for him?" Claire asked, close to tears.

"No Claire, there isn't anything else! I told you that the first ten times you asked me!" Jack snapped, barely in control of his emotions. Claire flew back as if she had been slapped in the face by Jack.

"Well excuse me Jack for being concerned about one of the best friends I have here on this island!" Claire spat and would have stormed out if Jack's hadn't grabbed her and pulled her back.

"I'm sorry for yelling Claire. It's just it seems that all people want is something from me. I don't ever just get to relax because every time I do something bad happens. I know how you feel about Charlie and shouldn't have yelled at you." Claire nodded and smiled lightly. She wasn't the only one that could see the bags under Jack's eyes and the creased worry lines that were on his forehead.

"It's okay Jack… I understand… how about we move him over to the bunk for starters?" Claire asked. She thought maybe if she tried to make more decisions for Jack it would help him relax. Jack nodded wearily and the two gently carried Charlie to the bunk beds.

Sawyer watched cockily as everyone else on the island clustered on the beach and surrounding Libby. He knew that they wanted to know what to do about Kate. Grinning Sawyer waited patiently for the opportune moment. He knew that Libby wouldn't outright say that Jack wanted to be the hero again so they had to wait… she would make some kind of excuse so they could wait a little longer. Now was the time… he had to go say something now.

"What's going on at the Community meeting guys? Sorry I'm late but I had to drop off little Johnny at soccer practice before I could come here," Sawyer drawled sarcastically and received several eye rolls.

"Not now Sawyer…" Libby said who was rather annoyed, "We need to figure out what to do about Kate. She's missing."

"_Oh good…" _Sawyer thought to himself, _"She didn't see me in the hatch when she announced that Freckles was missing. That makes things so much easier."_

"Well that's easy blondie… shouldn't we charge after her with our flags waving and swords drawn?" Libby shook her head.

"It's not that easy Sawyer… I mean we have to haggle some guns from you, sort them out between us, decide who all is going to save Kate, try to figure out where she went and when, and we have to have someone who can track. Well Kate was a tracker and she's the one we're trying to find and Locke was the other, but he's gone with Eko looking for Gale. He escaped the other day." Sawyer grinned throughout all of this. Normally this would've sounded very level headed and reasonable but he wasn't in the mood to be either.

"Well… I can tell you that you don't have to haggle anything from me right now. And as for the people that are going you can draw straws or something. Anyone see Kate right before she left?" There was a moment of silence before Sun nodded.

"I saw her last night… we talked a bit and she was very upset about… um… something. She told me that she would be going to bed soon but that obviously didn't happen." Sun was hesitant to tell what Kate was upset about lest it would get around to Jack. He deserved to hear it from Kate directly and not through the latest island gossip.

"Well thank you Captain Vague… could you possibly tell us what beach you talked to her on?" Sun barely controlled her anger and slowly responded.

"I saw her on that beach over there… right next to the jungle." The entire crowd literally sprinted to where Sun had pointed and Sawyer was right there with them… grinning the whole time. They could see her footprints clearly in the sand and they led right into the jungle. Upon approaching the piece of terrain that Kate had crossed through there were broken branches and disturbed earth everywhere.

"Well Libs… it looks like we wouldn't need a tracker anyways. Freckles left a trail that's a mile wide… hell a blind man could probably follow her right now…" Sawyer pointed out and Libby scowled. Sawyer grinned at her because he knew that Libby was now backed into a corner.

"Well I still think that we should wait for Jack…" Libby began to protest before Sawyer cut her off again.

"You… yeah you with the blonde hair and the big mouth. If you like talking so much maybe you can tell us why we should wait for Jack. We can just leave a little telegram here at the beach for him letting him know where we went and what time we'll be back like good little children," Sawyer mocked while his crazy grin stayed in place. He knew that he won. "Besides the doc could use a little breather… what with situation with Gale and Charlie…" Libby looked like she was about to say something more but then shut her mouth again as Sawyer started speaking again.

"I mean come on people… Jack can't get here right now and Kate is there NOW. Would you really risk her life and health just so you can wait for the hero to get here to supervise?" The other survivors saw sense in his words and no longer wanted to wait for Jack. Libby's scowl deepened but she threw her hands up in defeat.

"Do what you want Sawyer but I'm going to stay here and wait," Libby snapped. Just then Hurley was walking by and saw the dangerous look on Libby's face.

"Whoa dude… whatever you were just saying I would stop right now… that's Libby's murder face right there." Sawyer tried to look unconcerned but in truth the look on her face really did scare the hell out of him. He couldn't help but grin though as the survivors already began to gather straws to see who would go with Sawyer.

"_Phase one of Mission Save Freckles and Dis Jack: Complete!" _Sawyer thought to himself gleefully.

**A/N: Okay I hoped you all liked it… I tried to put a little more humor into this chapter but maybe I failed miserably… let me know! And again I would like to know what I should focus on more, Kate, Charlie, or Sawyer. Thanks your feedback is always so helpful:D**


	12. Mission Discontinued

**A/N: Okay… I didn't get many reviews last time but that's okay. I don't think this chapter is my best one but I wanted to post something before summer. I don't know how often I will get to post because school is ending and as a result I have to give my laptop up to the school… (sniffs sadly) Anyway read and enjoy if you can!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own LOST nor anything that comes with it. Sadly I don't think Mission Save Freckles and Dis Jack will be around much longer which is the one thing I DO own…**

(Libby's point of view)

Well here's a secret for you… I'm not really a psychiatrist… nor a therapist… or any kind of doctor for that matter. I was in the mental hospital for reasons I would rather not explain, and was let out only a few months ago. Now don't get the impression that I'm still insane… I'm better now and am level headed most of the time. I had to lie to people though because I didn't want the others that crashed with me to think I was one of Them because I didn't have a steady job that I could explain. I wanted to sound impressive so I said the first thing that came to my mind… a shrink. I love this new image of myself and don't want it to change… but I know that as soon as I get off this island the old me will come back. I don't want to be a helpless psycho anymore, I want to be normal, live a new life, have a good job, and witness the proud beam from my parents faces. I know that won't happen in the real world because I have been permanently branded a psychopath and will never get a serious job because of it. Life really does suck in the real world.

(No point of view)

Kate snapped back into reality and tried desperately to fight against the strong arms that held her down. Managing to break her right leg free, Kate swung it up and hit the nearest person to her. The satisfaction was immense when she heard a dull snap, probably the guy's nose. Her freedom was short lived though because soon she felt tight ropes bind her ankles and wrists together painfully. A hand removed itself from Kate's mouth and she took the opportunity to shout as loud as she could, hoping someone else would hear her.

"Let me go! I swear to god when Jack finds out what you scum have done to me a war will start! Let me go!" Kate screamed and even managed to spit on the face of the bearded man. "_Zeke…" _Kate thought to herself, "_Oh man not again!"_ Immediately after the stream of curses that came from Kate though a filthy piece of cloth entered her mouth and served as a gag, choking down one of Kate's only hope of someone helping her. Kate continued to thrash as hard as she could though until a large heavy rock came down on her head and blackness filled her vision. The last thing she heard came from the Other dubbed Zeke.

"Well that's exactly what we're trying to start little missy… a war."

Jack and Claire carefully laid Charlie on the bunk bed and Claire even gently pulled a blanket and covered him with it. Jack nodded in approval of this action and smiled weakly at Claire. Jack was just glad that the operation was over and that he could finally relax. Sighing deeply he sunk into a chair not far from the bed and rested his eyes momentarily. It wasn't very long before Jack was asleep and oblivious to the world around him. Claire didn't seem to notice though because she had finally noticed Charlie's blood all over her hands and decided to wash them. Meanwhile Jack dreamed.

_He was running through a dense forest, frantically looking for something. Hatred, anger, and fear burned in his veins, which fueled his legs with enough energy to keep running. _

"_Where are you?" Jack could hear himself yelling hoarsely and there was the faint sound of footsteps a little ways behind him. "The others had better catch up soon," Jack mumbled to himself and then kept running. Suddenly Jack came to a clearing and the roar of a large waterfall could be heard. There he saw what he was looking for, Kate. _

"_Kate," Jack cried weakly but found that his feet no longer wanted to move. Suddenly to his horror he saw a man come from the dense jungle next to him, headed towards Kate. Jack desperately tried to stop the man but his feet were rooted firmly in the ground. He could do nothing. He watched as Kate tried to get away from the man in terror but suddenly others came in towards her. They pinned her to the ground and tried to keep her still. Her leg came up and hit a man squarely in the nose and Jack grinned slightly. The grin faded though as ropes bound her legs and arms, leaving her only option to scream. Most of it was random nonsense that Jack couldn't quite decipher until one phrase came out loud and clear. _

"_Let me go! I swear to god when Jack finds out what you scum have done to me there will be a war! Let me go!" A gag was forced into her mouth though and she was silenced by a large rock. Jack yelled in anger and desperately tried to lift his feet but nothing happened. _

"_That's just what we're trying to start little missy, a war." Jack heard the group of men laugh as four of them hoisted Kate's limp body from the ground. "Our little friend should be on the move now, it won't be long until they are so fueled by revenge that they'll come after us." Jack woke screaming and yelling. _

"Jack! Jack what's wrong!" Claire cried desperately, shaking Jack with all her strength. Jack's eyes finally snapped open and he took in his surroundings. He even noticed with slight amusement that Claire still had soap on her hands. Then he remembered the dream and was immediately sober.

"Claire! We have to find the others to look for Kate! Now!" Jack demanded and Claire looked taken aback.

"But someone has to stay with Charlie!" Claire argued and for a moment Jack looked very upset.

"Well then you can stay with him. Just hang out with him and in four hours you can give him his first pain killer. Just one to start with and help him swallow it with water. I should be back by then so you don't need to worry too much," Jack said confidently. Claire looked shocked though and stared at Charlie for a moment silently.

"What about Aaron… I really have been away from him for a long time…" Claire began to say but she stopped knowing that he was in good hands with Hurley and Libby. "All right… I'll stay here with him. You go get Kate back." Jack grinned and thanked Claire. He was going to save Kate from those men, no matter what.

"Okay so I've got Bernard, Jin, Ana Lucia, Eko, and myself," Sawyer said, counting how many it was that was going with him. "Come up, get your guns, grab a water bottle or two, a snack if you want, and lets get the hell out of here!" The small group roared in approval and went about collecting their things. Sawyer was all smiles himself as he packed a bag. This was going way better than he ever thought it would. That was until he heard a familiar voice shouting from behind him. "Damn…" Sawyer muttered to himself.

"Wait! Wait a minute Sawyer!" Jack shouted and sprinted over to where the group was. Sawyer rolled his eyes but nonetheless turned to face Jack.

"Well if it isn't the hero come to save the day yet again. What can I do for you doc?" Sawyer drawled as casually as he could while inside he was screaming.

"I know where she is Sawyer. I'm coming with you guys." Sawyer looked surprised at Jack's first sentence even though he tried to hide it.

"How do you know where Freckles is? None of _us_ do… all we got is a general direction to look in and you say that you know exactly where she is?" Sawyer said unbelievingly. Or maybe it was just stubbornness… he was sulky because his little mission was being ruined. "Unless maybe you're really psychic but never bothered to mention it to us… though I _highly _doubt that's the case." Jack scowled but then turned his attention to the four other people that looked willing to listen.

"Please just trust me… I had a dream that Kate was in a clearing with a waterfall… the Others took her and said something about a war being started. I don't know if it's happened yet or if it's going to happen or if it will happen at all but something tells me that it's important that we look for her _RIGHT NOW!" _Jack said as slowly and rationally as he could. The others looked at each other doubtfully except for Ana.

"Well if that's what you think then we should head out now," Ana said with a tough looking scowl in Sawyer's direction. She didn't really like that Kate was getting both of their attentions but knew that it wasn't Kate's fault she was. The truth was she liked having another girl around that wasn't too wrapped up in their baby or their male pairings. It was refreshing I guess you could say.

"I'd love to include you doc but our spots are all filled up. Sorry but you'll have to wait for the next time one of us is desperately lost in the jungle," Sawyer sneered. He knew it was a weak attempt to get Jack to stay behind but he wasn't going to give up with a good fight. Jack rolled his eyes at Sawyer.

"Like it really matters how many people go as long as someone goes," Jack snapped and Sawyer looked ready to kill Jack right there. Ana watched with an annoyed look on her face and finally couldn't stand it anymore.

"Okay guys… chill. Sawyer if it's really that important to you I'll stay behind so Jack can have my spot," Ana said sourly and held her gun out to Jack. Jack shook his head though angrily.

"No Ana, we can all go. You don't have to give up your spot so that I can go. It really doesn't matter how many people go and Sawyer knows it," Jack said viciously in Sawyer's direction.

"Really Jack… I don't really want to go. For once I would like to stay behind in the peace and quiet. I'll help Libby with Aaron or something…" Ana said with a small smile and forced her gun into Jack's hands and stalked away to find Libby. Jack glared at Sawyer but still put the gun in a safe place where he could reach it easily.

"Come on Sawyer, lets go NOW," Jack barked at Sawyer and made his way to the forest at a quick walk. Sawyer grimaced as he followed behind Jack reluctantly.

"_Mission Save Freckles and Dis Jack: Discontinued,"_ Sawyer thought grimly to himself and made his way down the beach to the forest.

**A/N: Now I would definitely like some reviews… please let me know if it was good… bad… just so-so… anything! Thanks! **


	13. A Little Clairlie and Confusion

**A/N: Wow… it has really been a while since I updated this story. But I was so busy with my new story, Harry Potter: A Hot New Musical! Check it out if you want… I do mention LOST in the first chapter that's really a prologue. Okay now I'm done advertising. Lets get on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own LOST but I wish I owned Jack… hehe…**

Kate opened her eyes only to find that she was still being carried with a bag over her head. That was when the whole memory came back to her and she groaned. Her head ached terribly from where she was hit and she could feel a bruise forming on her hip where she was thrown to the ground.

"_Count your blessings Kate… it could be a lot worse,"_ Kate told herself firmly. Now if only she knew where they were taking her. _"Well it's not like they would tell you even if you asked silly," _Kate's subconscious added and Kate rolled her eyes. Then she realized that she was having a conversation with herself and was immediately freaked out. Kate considered shouting so they knew that she was awake but immediately decided against it when she could hear people talking.

"This isn't right and you know it… they haven't done anything to us!" Kate heard a young female protest and Kate wondered if it was Alex. She could barely dare to hope that it was.

"It's necessary. And don't try saying that they haven't done anything to us because they have. They took HIM remember?" a man's voice replied gruffly.

"But you fail to remember that HE set it up that way… HE wanted to be captured by them," the girl replied snippily.

"And you forget your place," the man said in a dangerous tone. After that the woman was silent. Kate mentally gulped as she remembered exactly what "Zeke" was capable of. She couldn't remember everything from the first time they had captured her but she remembered it wasn't good. Suddenly she found herself praying silently, even though she couldn't remember a time when she was really religious.

"_Please, if there's something there watching me help Jack find me. I'm afraid and Jack is the only one that can help me. Please send him to me before it's too late!" _Kate pleaded silently and hoped that somehow Jack would find her.

"Hey hero… are you sure this is the right way?" Sawyer drawled from behind Jack.

"Yes Sawyer… I'm positive," Jack snapped, even though he wasn't entirely sure. It wasn't like he got a good look at any landmarks in his dream. He was too confused to notice. Nonetheless he still had a strong feeling that he was going the right way. But since when did Jack follow his feelings?

"Well this jungle ain't exactly the easiest place to keep track of and you're only going off a dream you had. It doesn't seem real certain to me," Sawyer said skeptically. Really he was still just a little sulky that his Mission Save Freckles and Dis Jack didn't work out.

"Sometimes Sawyer not everything in life is meant to be certain," Jack snapped and then realized how much he sounded like Locke. Groaning Jack rubbed his forehead as though to ease the ache in his mind. Then all of a sudden he received this jolt of energy and knew he had to keep going forward. Kate needed him to find her, NOW! Jack was so taken over by desperation that he took off at a dead run, leaving everyone behind him in confusion.

"I guess the doc's finally cracked," Sawyer said, awe creeping into his voice as well as sarcasm. Meanwhile Jack was still plowing through the jungle, his adrenaline flowing which gave him more speed. Suddenly he was there, the clearing. Only there was no one there… just the occasional bird passing through the sky and the waterfall to his left. Jack tried to hold back the emotion that threatened to fall from his eyes.

"_This HAS to be right," _Jack thought desperately but then noticed something. Kate's shoes were still sitting innocently on the sandy shore of the lake. Hope surged through Jack until he realized that this meant the Others have already taken Kate. Now he could see the evident struggle written in the dirt in the middle of the clearing but he couldn't quite tell where they took her.

"Would be convenient if I had another weird feeling right now," Jack muttered sarcastically but was surprised when he found his feet turning into a certain direction. Writing himself off as crazy Jack plunged into the forest that way, hoping it was right.

Meanwhile in the hatch Claire prepared Charlie's painkiller. She was a little worried, since Jack has been gone so long and everything, but determined to make Charlie better.

"Okay Charlie… time for your pills. Now try not to fuss because these pills are going to make you feel much better," Claire spoke out loud without realizing it. When she did realize it though she blushed out of embarrassment.

"Here I am, talking to someone that can't even hear me," Claire muttered but then thought for a moment. "I did read somewhere that sometimes people in comas can hear you when you talk to them. I suppose I'll try it. I've got nothing better to do in here." Suddenly the button started to go off and Claire was torn. It was time for Charlie to have his medicine but she supposed he could wait for a moment while she typed in the code. When she returned though she heard something come from Charlie's mouth and for a brief moment she thought he was awake. It turned out to be more of a dream being spoken out loud though.

"I'm sorry… didn't mean to… I didn't want to kill mum… no… I'm sorry…" Charlie muttered, flinching and twitching while he did. Claire immediately was next to him to hear if he would say anything else but he had stopped and his body instantly relaxed. It had never really occurred to Claire that Charlie might have a past to haunt him. She had been too wrapped up in her own memories to really notice. All she had stopped to think about was that Charlie had lied to her about the addiction. That was all she had needed to hear to build her protective wall once more. Now that she saw Charlie here now though she realized that there was more to it than it seemed. Stroking his hair softly, Claire decided that she really wanted to reach out to this helpless man despite any memories she had. With that thought Claire helped Charlie swallow his pills and then she allowed her body to relax long enough to sleep.

"_I told you he wouldn't last dear," an elderly woman said coldly to Claire while glaring at her across the dinner table. "Didn't I warn you about him? He was too chicken to face up to his responsibilities." Claire looked ready to cry but fought back the urge to plead with her father for help. _

"_I know Mother… I made a mistake with him… I know now that you were right," Claire finally choked out while trying to meet her mother's gaze. Though she knew it's never easy to stare a hungry tiger right in the eyes without looking down again out of fear. _

"_You really messed up this time Claire. Pregnant and no father to help you raise the child. I always knew that you would screw up one day Claire but I never thought it would be this bad. You are going to get an abortion aren't you?" Claire stared slack jawed at her mother and it took a moment for everything she said to register. _

"_Why are you even thinking about me getting an abortion mother? I'm going to adopt him out probably to another family that can take care of him," Claire responded, trying not to let all her emotions show in her voice. On the other hand, her mother looked rather surprised at Claire's bold response. _

Claire's dream then changed to a memory of her love right before he left.

"_Good morning sleepyhead," he murmured as Claire opened her eyes for the first time that morning. She grinned at her boyfriend and stretched lazily. Her hand then instinctively went to her stomach and rested on the slowly growing bump there. He looked curiously at her and finally she had to break the silence. _

"_Something wrong dear?" she asked, concern etched in her voice. She always worried when he got that look in his eye… like there was something the matter. She trusted him of course, with her life and the life of her baby, but she couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind on mornings like this. _

"_When is he due?" he asked softly and Claire relaxed. He was must have just been stressing about the baby and everything. She couldn't help but grin goofily at how handsome he looked even in the early morning. What with the light highlighting his hair and his eyes sparkling with a long mulled over question. _

"_About five months," she whispered excitedly. What she wasn't expecting was his reaction. It was like someone had just told you that tax day was tomorrow and you hadn't even begun them yet. He bolted upright and panic showed clearly in his eyes at the mere thought of it. _

"_Five months!" he nearly shouted and it startled Claire so much that she nearly fell off the bed. "Five months!" he cried again. _

"_Yes five months! What's wrong?" Claire asked, a high pitch tone entering her voice out of shock and fear. _

"_Is it really that close?" When Claire nodded in response he nearly had a break down. "How the hell did this happen?" he bellowed now, dangerously. _

"_What do you mean? We've known about this for months and months… you were the one that convinced me to keep the baby!" Claire shouted, now angered by his words. Her beloved just stood there though… shaking his head in rage and frustration. Finally he spoke in a low and dangerous voice. _

"_I… can't… do this Claire! I never wanted a child… I… I…" he began but then instead hit the wall. Later a dent would always remain in the wall that he hit driving Claire into a depression every time she saw it. "God damn it! I just can't handle this!" And he was gone… just like that. The next time Claire talked to him he was leaving… and he was clearly wasted. Some life long partner he made. _

Claire woke with a cry and found that there were tears staining her cheeks. She curled up in the chair that she had been sleeping in… one very similar to Jack's actually. Claire then touched the corner of her left eye tenderly… the same spot where she had a bruise because of _him. _He was so drunk that night… so angry with her. She often blamed herself because she thought that she should've known that he wouldn't want to stay with her if she had actual needs. She should've never kept the baby… then maybe... Claire shook her head to get rid of these thoughts. She loved Aaron and he was worth the price of losing someone that clearly didn't care about her. But still… her trust in men had never been the same. She had thrown herself at Tom (A/N: Am I right?) and he had pushed her away.

"I should have known better than to trust him so blindly," Claire muttered bitterly. What she heard next startled her to no end though.

"No… he… was… the… fool…" some one forced out painfully behind her and Claire noticed a faint British accent.

**A/N: Well… clearly we all know who it is… I wanted to talk more about Claire and Charlie instead of Kate and Jack so… here it is. Again so sorry about the wait… I just got too busy. Please review and tell me if it was good… what I could do better… absolutely anything at all! Thanks!**


	14. Impatiently Waiting and Guilt

**A/N: Okay I'm back again… once again I would like to mention how busy I am trying to find songs for my Harry Potter fic… please check out if you are interested! Anyway… sorry about the place that I left off but it wasn't to big of a cliffhanger thankfully. I'm sure we all know who is now awake! ;)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything LOST… darn… **

(Sayid's point of view)

It seems like forever ago that I lost Shannon and yet I can still feel the pain. I should have known not to get close to another girl on this island… it is full of so many surprises that none of us are safe. And yet I didn't follow my instinct… for the second time in my life I let my emotions guide me. Look at what happened both times… I'm more alone than ever now. I think at first that Shannon was just a distraction from Nadia… something I could focus on to lose the sting of her loss. Even if she was alive I always knew that I would not be able to find her… and even if I did she would have moved on by now. But then Shannon became more than just a distraction… I started to love her. I should have ended it… I should have ended it right then before I could cause myself more hurt but I couldn't bring myself to stop the happiness I felt with her. It was selfish… I should not have been so self-centered but I couldn't help myself. For once I thought I could actually do something _I_ wanted and not what someone else wanted. I know better now… I was not meant to be happy.

(No point of view)

Claire's head snapped up so fast that she was surprised that she didn't have a bad case of whiplash. For a moment her bright blue eyes just stared helplessly at Charlie's brown ones until her brain recovered from the shock.

"Charlie?" Claire whispered, hardly daring to believe it. Charlie nodded weakly and smiled.

"I'm here for now… I dunno how long I will sleep. It took all day so I could wake up right now," Charlie whispered and Claire gripped his hand as hard as she could.

"When I talk to you can you hear me? When you're unconscious I mean," Claire asked eagerly. She simply had to know this. Charlie desperately tried to form words, found that he couldn't, so merely nodded yes. "You must think I'm some kind of raving lunatic then," Claire laughed while trying to hold back her tears of happiness.

"How… long?" Charlie stuttered and Claire understood him perfectly.

"Umm…" Claire swiveled around to check the clock and saw that it was 6:50 p.m. "About twelve hours or so…" Had Claire actually slept for six of those hours? "Oh my gosh Charlie! I was supposed to give you your meds every few hours! You only got them once!" Claire shrieked and noticed now that Charlie was barely awake.

"That… explains… a lot…" he stuttered and smiled painfully in her direction. Claire in the meantime reached to the table next to Charlie and pulled out two pills.

"Just hang on long enough so I can give you your meds," Claire whispered and grabbed a water bottle on the floor next to her. Jack must have left it this morning. "Okay Charlie, open your mouth up so I can pop a couple of these in. Then you can sleep again, okay?" Claire said softly while Charlie followed her instructions. It was much easier for her this time because he was conscious enough to swallow now. "Okay Charlie… get some more rest…" Claire cooed softly and stroked his hair soothingly. She noticed that it had gotten so shaggy and long lately… she would have to fix that soon enough.

"Claire…" he mumbled so softly that she had to lean in close to really hear. "I… don't… know when… I'll be waking… again… maybe… never…" Charlie muttered and Claire's heart turned to ice at the thought. She saw how pale he looked… it was almost as if he were already dead!

"_No, no, no, no, no! Not Charlie!"_ Claire's mind screamed but she leaned in closer to hear what Charlie had to say.

"I… want… you to know… that… I… meant… what I said…" Charlie's voice was now barely a whisper and his eyelids were closing heavily. Claire tried to hide the tears that were now flowing freely down her face. She clutched his hand tightly and kissed it softly.

"Charlie I…" Claire began but then had another idea. Charlie looked at her expectantly and she felt him actually return her grip on his hand. She smiled sadly down at him and wished that she could tell him now but something told her that it just wasn't the right time. So instead she leaned down and kissed his cheek lovingly. "I'll tell you when you wake up again… so if you want to hear what my heart has to say you have to hold on," she whispered. Charlie's eyes shone with hope now and he nodded weakly. She knew now that he would hold on as long as he could… hopefully it would be enough to pull him through. Charlie's head slumped again and he was back in his deep sleep once more. Claire kissed his hand one more time and allowed the tears to really fall. She only hoped that she did the right thing just now.

Jack trekked across the close terrain of the forest and tried desperately to keep his breath. He couldn't stop now… he legs would have to hold out just a bit longer! They had to! Suddenly a large root caught Jack's right foot and sent him tumbling across the ground painfully. Jack groaned and tried to pick himself up. To his horror though he found that he couldn't move his right foot AT ALL! He must've broke the ankle or something in the fall.

"Damn it!" Jack shouted. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" he screamed and beat the ground in his frustration. Picking up handfuls of the loose soil Jack threw them across the jungle, screaming and close to tears. "Kate!" he cried at the top of his lungs and even felt his voice go out in the process. "No!" he whimpered, seeing as how he didn't have the voice to keep shouting. Jack took deep breaths to calm himself and after a while the logical part of his brain began to slowly work again.

"_Look for some kind of stick you can use to prop yourself,"_ the logical part of him said and Jack did just that. He had to keep going for Kate's sake. In the distance Jack thought he could hear voices calling his name but he ignored them. All he could concentrate on was finding his walking stick. When he did find it he still didn't turn back towards the voices. Something told him that he was on the right path and nothing was going to make him turn back.

"Where do you think he went?" Sayid asked nervously as the small group began to thoroughly search the clearing that they came across. They were sure that they saw Jack come this way but they couldn't find a trace of him.

"You think maybe he came by here, saw Kate's shoes, and then took off in the jungle?" Bernard asked and everyone tensed. He was pointing out the painfully obvious after all and no one was in the mood to be told what they already saw in front of them.

"No… I thought maybe he had an Invisibility Cloak and he's standing here watching us act like a bunch of idiots. Of course he ran into the freaking jungle!" Sawyer snapped and Bernard looked taken aback. Jin was, as usual, silently looking around the clearing with his sharp eyes. Finally he uttered something.

"Tracker…" he muttered darkly and everyone knew exactly what he meant.

"Yeah buddy… we could certainly do with a tracker right now…" Sawyer replied, starting to feel the first of fear creep into his chest. As much as he loathed the doc he would still hate it if something happened to him. I mean… who else would he bother nonstop?

"Libby was right then… we should have waited for Locke to come back…" Bernard hissed in Sawyer's direction, still a little miffed that Sawyer had snapped at him earlier.

"If I need your opinion I'll ask for it!" Sawyer snarled dangerously and Bernard shrank back a little.

"Sawyer… Bernard… I don't want to have to put you in a corner," Sayid said sternly while still trying to achieve a joking atmosphere. Sawyer and Bernard got the hint though and kept quiet… Sawyer never forgot about those bamboo shoots in his fingernails and he never would. There was an awkward silence until finally Jin said something.

"Look…" he paused and seemed to be searching for the right words, "For… tracks?" Jin finally forced out and Sayid nodded.

"That makes sense… if we can find the right area he entered it would be easy to follow him… I bet Jack's not in the mood to be thinking about hiding tracks," Sayid said clearly and began to head towards one end of the clearing. The others shrugged and figured they might as well and split up to look for tracks. Back at camp though someone was nervously waiting for a signal.

"Oh man… please, please, please…" Michael muttered and looked nervously at the sky. He hoped that he wouldn't see the smoke come trailing through the clouds… he hoped that he wouldn't have to commit this bloody deed. In his heart though Michael knew that he would do it if he was told to though… only if it meant that he could have his son back.

"What's up Michael?" a voice said behind him and Michael jerked around to see Ana standing behind him. Breathing a sigh of relief Michael shrugged.

"Nothing much… just… hanging around the beach. You know you really start to miss the ocean breeze out there in the jungle, it's refreshing," Michael responded convincingly but Ana still was a little suspicious. Of course, it must not be easy to lose your son. She knew the feeling first hand but she tried not to think about it.

"Look… I'm sorry you couldn't find Walt," Ana said sympathetically and placed a hand gently on Michael's shoulder. He flinched at the contact and Ana made a mental note of it to watch for injuries on Michael. Of course mental and emotional scars can't always be noticed.

"So am I…," Michael muttered regretfully and stared out into the ocean. "I just keep telling myself that it will be okay… it calms me somehow to imagine that everything will work out okay," Michael said while trying to choke down the tears that threatened him. Ana nodded absent mindedly, listening to him in concern.

"Maybe everything will turn out okay for you Michael… just keep hoping that you can find your son and maybe it will happen," Ana suggested even though she herself didn't believe in that whole "If you wish hard enough…" crap. She was a cop after all and it's no fairy tale at work. Ana was surprised to see though that Michael was close to crying.

"Yeah…" he choked while trying to keep his voice even. Ana could even see his throat working to steady his voice. "I wish everything worked that way," he whispered and ducked his head. Ana sensed that Michael needed to be alone so she trudged away through the thick sand. Michael was trembling all over and he felt like he was going to be sick. It was the over powering sense of guilt and fear that was making him this way… oh if only there was another way to do this! Michael touched the area where his shirt and pants met and found the familiar shape of a pistol. Now he really was going to be sick and he dashed over to the water so that no one would find his mess. He didn't want anyone to be too suspicious… otherwise Walt would be killed and it would be all his fault. Michael wiped his mouth with the back of his hand disgustedly and once more looked to the sky, relieved to notice that the signal he was looking for wasn't there yet.

**A/N: Okay so that is the end of the chapter… obviously. I would really like some reviews on what you guys thought of the chapter and it would be cool if everyone who read reviewed. I doubt it will happen but I still hope. Anyways, review!**


	15. Memory Lane

**A/N: Well… I really have nothing important to say… except that whatever Michael has to do it will not be like the show. At least not exactly. On with the story! **

**Disclaimer: I own LOST… that's why I'm here writing fanfiction about it.**

(Bernard's point of view)

Ever since I found out about Rose's cancer I've been on high maintenance around her. I'm always trying to find a way to help her… to make her feel better. I guess I'm just dreading the day when she'll have to live in a hospital all the time… attached to a bunch of wires and machines and too sick to move by herself. I don't want to go through that… I've watched other people close to me go through the same thing and I don't think I would be able to handle it again. Rose is cool as a cucumber about it though… she's more concerned about everyone else on the island but herself. I think she especially sympathizes with Jack because he works himself to death. That's why I'm out here helping him though… to let him know that he doesn't have to always do things by himself. Though that all went to hell seeing as he ran off by himself. If Rose was going to kill me for leaving without telling her then she'll really be livid when we can't find Jack. I mean if we can't find Jack.

(No point of view)

"God my ankle hurts," Jack muttered to himself but he kept on moving quickly. Of course his leg slowed him up but he still continued at a brisk pace. He couldn't bear it if Kate was hurt and he had been able to do something about it. Suddenly Jack's leg gave out and he was kneeling on the floor, hardly able to breath. Red covered his vision as he desperately gasped for air and his stomach convulsed painfully. Jack didn't know whether he was there for two minutes or two hours. All Jack could hear was the steady beating of his pulse in his ears and then all at once the moment of pain passed. Jack opened his eyes to find that he had vomited but he was too glad to still be alive to care. Once again he allowed his sensible brain turn on and it told him that he had been putting too much pressure on his foot. The immense pain had caused him to get violently sick and his body was trying to tell him to slow down. Breathing deeply, Jack tried to stand again but was too light headed to stay standing. He once more found himself collapsed on the ground out of weakness and became frustrated.

"_Stop feeling for a minute Jack… it takes energy to be frustrated,"_ the sensible mind told him firmly and even though Jack wanted to keep being frustrated, he instead took several deep breaths and remained neutral for a while. _"Just rest for a bit Jack… then you can get going soon,"_ the doctor part of him said and Jack willingly agreed. He knew that this part of him was right and that he wouldn't do Kate any good by stopping to be sick every few steps. He crawled carefully to a large tree and gratefully rested against it. Jack mentally told himself to wake back up in ten minutes and then allowed himself to sleep. He had no idea that he had been traveling for nearly three hours with his broken foot and at that quick pace.

"Hey… Sayid!" a voice called and Sayid's head snapped up to see who called his name. He saw Bernard standing over about fifty feet to his left and beckoning to him to come over. Sayid willingly trotted over to the older man and immediately saw the tracks that Bernard was pointing to. Several branches and plants had been plowed into and broken and the dirt was stirred as if someone had ran through there.

"Sawyer! Jin! We found it!" Sayid called and waited for his other two companions to join them.

"Well… it seems like you're the lucky man Sayid," Sawyer grinned and looked at the tracks in front of him.

"Actually Sawyer," Sayid said with laughter reflecting in his eyes, "You might be surprised to find that Bernard found the tracks," he laughed in his heavily accented voice. Sawyer was silent and his expression unreadable. Bernard just looked down and there was an awkward silence. "Well… we should probably get going," Sayid commanded and they headed quickly down the path Jack had made for them.

"Sun!" Rose called out to the pretty Korean woman by the beach. Sun turned and waved at Rose cheerfully but inside wondered what it was Rose wanted. Rose was usually quiet and didn't talk much.

"Rose… is there something wrong?" Sun asked worriedly as she saw Rose's strained face.

"Oh nothing serious sweetie," Rose laughed. "I just wondered if you've seen Bernard… I haven't seen him all day!" Sun looked troubled and her brow creased.

"I haven't seen him all afternoon… come to think of it I haven't seen Jin since this morning," Sun muttered and right at that moment Libby walked by.

"Libby!" Rose cried and Libby stopped in her tracks.

"Rose right?" she asked as she walked over to the two women. She had never really been acquainted to Rose although she had heard a ton about her from Bernard. Rose nodded distractedly and Sun was the next to speak.

"Have you seen Bernard or Jin?" she asked and Libby looked surprised.

"Didn't you know? They both went with Sawyer and Sayid to look for Kate," Libby said, looking confused. Both Sun and Rose were silent and Libby, feeling awkward, walked away. Rose and Sun looked at each other and sent one another looks that only women are able to understand. The look said that their husbands didn't stand a chance once they got back.

Michael still sat quietly on the beach, occasionally looking towards the sky. Over to his left he heard the happy gurgle of Aaron coming from Claire's tent and he smiled. He wish he had been able to see Walt when he was that age… so small and innocent. For a moment a brief smile slipped across his face as he saw Libby tickle the small baby affectionately. It was too cute not to grin at. But soon Michael remembered his task and was sober once more. He stared out at the vast blue ocean again and began to remember back to his time in the jungle.

"_Where's Walt?" Michael accused angrily while staring down a man with a fake beard. The man just grinned and shook his head. _

"_We've beat you, captured you, and threatened you, and you still want to know about your pathetic excuse for a son?" the man laughed. Michael however fumed silently but knew better than to get cheeky with this guy. Even though he looked old Michael knew that he could still deliver quite the punch if he wanted to. _

"_Well can you at least tell me if I can see him again?" Michael pleaded while pulling slightly at the ropes that bound his hands. He had been traveling with a small group of Others for several days now… right now it was Zeke's turn to keep watch over Michael. _

"_Can't say I can… that's up for Him to decide and He happens to be with your little friends right now. You better hope that they are treating him well," Zeke said coldly and the firelight flickering over his face only helped to make the scene more dramatic and creepy. _

"_Who is He?" Michael asked, trying to change his tactics on the older man. The bearded man just laughed at him loudly. _

"_That happens to be none of your business boy!" he chuckled and got up as it was someone else's watch. _

_Several days later, Michael finally saw what the headquarters looked like for Them. A bunch of small huts and crudely made but Michael felt that there was more to this place than what meets the eye. Even though there were a few people out you got the feeling that there were more somewhere else. The grim sight made Michael shiver but he once again thought back to Walt. Was he okay here? His thoughts were cut short though as "Zeke" gave him a sharp slap to the head as well as directions not to gawk. Michael instead looked down at the ground in defeat. He couldn't win with these people anyways. _

"_Come on boy… we're gonna pay a little visit to a good friend of mine," the bearded man snickered and dragged Michael towards something that looked similar to a hatch, only creepier. Inside was a older woman who seemed to stare holes into Michael. _

"_Hello Michael… I'm Madam Clue," she whispered and even though it was meant to sound welcoming it sent shivers down Michael's spine. He didn't like this woman at all. "Now tell me… do you want to see your son again?" the woman asked and for a moment Michael froze up for a moment. _

"_Of course I do," he whispered as though this was all some kind of nightmare that would go away in a few moments. Michael prayed that it was true. Madam Clue smiled at him eerily and knowingly. _

"_Well… if you really want to see him then you have to follow these instructions," she said firmly and handed Michael a slip of paper. Warily, Michael unfolded the paper and saw a list of directions that he needed to follow. The further down the list he got the paler he became. What they wanted him to do was cruel and terrible. But if it meant he could get Walt out of here…_

"_I can't agree to this… if I don't know that my son is really alive or not," Michael choked out but looked straight at Madam Clue for the first time. She smiled, though now there seemed to be nervousness behind it. _

"_It's not really a matter of the boy's well being…" she began but Michael cut her off. _

"_I need to see my son before I can do any of this for you," Michael replied firmly and Madam Clue looked indecisive. _

"_Well… if the father sees it as necessary… bring the boy," she muttered reluctantly and Michael smiled somewhat in triumph. "Zeke" left the room for a moment and then came back with a small boy that bore a resemblance to Michael in his hands. Michael saw Walt and it seemed as though time had stopped for a moment. He didn't think that Walt would actually be alive… he barely was though as it was. He looked thin and hollow eyed, with scars and bruises on his frail body. But he was alive. _

"_Dad," Walt choked out, looking close to tears. Michael just stared and all he could was nod. He tried to form words but none would come for the longest time. "Dad," Walt cried again and ran quickly to Michael who was ready with open arms. _

"_Walt… Walt is it really you?" Michael breathed and he could feel Walt nod while pressing his face even more into Michael's shoulder. Suddenly he felt Walt tense up and he brought his face closer to Michael's ear. _

"_Don't do what they tell you dad… they're liars… don't believe them dad don't believe them!" Walt hissed quietly in his ear and it seemed that not even Madam Clue could pick up on what he was saying. "They want to kill all of you… please don't listen… don't do what they ask you to… I'm not worth it…" Walt cried and Michael felt as though he had been socked in the stomach. His son was a martyr now? _

"_Don't worry Walt… I'll help you…" Michael whispered back and gave his son's shoulder a squeeze. Walt seemed to tense even more as he shook his head wildly. _

"_I think that's enough quality time, don't you think?" the bearded man snarled and grabbed Walt roughly by the shoulder. _

"_Don't do it… please dad! Don't listen to them, they're lying! They're lying to you, they aren't who they say they are! Please!" Walt screamed but soon he was out the door and Michael could only stare as his son was dragged off. _

"_What do you say Michael…" Madam Clue asked patiently. Michael had no question in his mind… his son was delusional if he thought that Michael was going to leave him there to die!_

"_Whatever you want… I'll do it," Michael muttered resignedly and Madam Clue looked relieved. _

"_I'm glad… you'll be escorted back to your friends," the old woman said with pleasure and Michael felt himself being dragged numbly back through the jungle. _

Now Michael sat on the beach… wondering if what he did was the right choice. Walt had seemed to upset… so desperate. But Michael wasn't going to just let him die… he couldn't live with himself if he did. But would he be able to live with himself after he betrays his friends?

**A/N: That is the end! I know that the confrontation between Michael and the Others seems like how the show went but there will be a difference… I promise. Anyway, please review!**


	16. Mothers and Children crisis

**A/N: I don't really have much to say except… if you like this story PLEASE REVIEW! Okay… on with the story….**

**Disclaimer: If I owned LOST the Others would dye their hair pink and Michael would go drown himself and Sawyer would declare his undying love for mangoes. Clearly I don't own it…**

(Charlie's point of view)

I'm not even sure what happened. I mean all I remember is excruciating and then I could hear Claire talking to me in the darkness. Telling me that everything would be okay and that Jack said I would survive. She even went on to describe her past relationships and that her last boyfriend was the one that got her pregnant. She even told me how he left her when the baby's birth date got even closer and how scared she was when he left. But then she stopped talking to me and the nightmares took over. I remembered what living in my house was like… with my father who was always so angry and my mother who tried to be the middle man between my brothers and him. God… then she died… it just happened so… _suddenly_. Suddenly… what does it mean to die suddenly? A heart attack or maybe you just lose the will to keep living. I didn't even have much time to comprehend it… I didn't even fully realize until she was being lowered into that never ending pit. I was only seventeen… only seventeen and my father expected me to be strong and not cry. I did my best… I really did… though I regretted holding back the tears. Just another chapter of my screwed up life I guess.

(No point of view)

Claire watched as Charlie slept… I guess you could call it sleeping. He looked so peaceful and Claire couldn't help but smile… she had never seen him look so relaxed. He didn't look guarded or nervous… he just… _was. _It's one of those things that are impossible to explain to someone else but when you see it you just know. Just like that… when someone just _is _it blows your mind… and even you can't comprehend it fully. Claire knew that she couldn't explain it to herself even so decided to just bask in this new feeling. It couldn't just stay that way forever though. Suddenly Charlie's face contorted into something painful and his body jerked as if he had just been hit by something coming full speed. Claire instinctively reached to grab Charlie's hand but he jerked away as though he was frightened.

_Charlie groaned in annoyance when his phone didn't stop ringing… even though he'd been ignoring it for the past ten minutes. With a frustrated sigh Charlie groggily reached over to grab his cell phone while carefully avoiding hitting his best friend Mickey. Charlie and his father had just got in a row over Charlie's music and Charlie had taken off to vent on his friend. He didn't think he'd fallen asleep though… damn… time flies. _

"_Hello," Charlie stated with a slight slur from being woken up so early… it must be about two in the morning!_

"_Charlie? Man is that you?" his brother's voice floated to Charlie's ear and he inwardly cursed at his brother… heck he even started streaming curses into the phone. _

"_What the bloody hell do you want? Do you realize that it's bloody two in the morning and that I was probably bloody sleeping?" Charlie snapped but instantly lowered his voice when he heard his friend stir. _

"_Sorry Charlie but I really have to talk to you," his brother whispered urgently and something in his tone of voice caused Charlie to immediately sit straight up, no longer sleepy. Something was wrong. _

"_What? For Christ's sake what's wrong?" Charlie asked worriedly. He could hear his brother curse into the phone before finally answering. _

"_After you left… Dad was in a right state and he set off on Mum… and well…" Charlie froze. Charlie might not have cared much about his father but his mother was the world to him. _

"_Did that bastard lay a hand on her?" Charlie asked urgently and his voice shook with rage and concern. _

"_He did… he went right off on her mate… boy I tried to stop him but he was so angry…" Charlie could hear the regret in his older brother's voice but Charlie decided it was best not to interrupt him. "And mom… she started yelling at him!" This surprised Charlie… usually his mother quietly took his father's rage for fear of making him angrier. "She told him how he had no right to treat you the way he does about your choice of music and that you were more of a man than he ever would be…" Charlie felt a large lump growing in his throat and he found it hard to breath. _

"_What did he do… did he kill her?" Charlie whispered and now he knew that Mickey was awake… if only barely. _

"_No… he was so surprised that he backed right off… in fact he had hardly even hit her… I doubt she had a bruise. They just… stared at each other for the longest time… then mum went to her room and slammed the door. Charlie she won't come out for anyone… please come home… she'll open the door for you!" Charlie was silent for a moment, relieved that his mother wasn't hurt. _

"_I'm coming right over… okay… bye…" he muttered and he turned to Mickey who was now fully awake. _

"_What's wrong Charlie?" he asked tiredly but concern was etched in his voice. _

"_I gotta get home Mickey… trouble with Mum…" he explained and Mickey nodded. _

"_Do you want me to come with you?" he asked but Charlie shook his head, smiling at his good friend. _

"_Nah… I just hope I don't wake your parents up with the car starting…" he grinned but it was strained. He HAD to get home and quick._

………………………

Claire watched as Charlie continued to dream and once again she wondered what it could be he was dreaming of. Realizing that another hour had passed Claire quickly grabbed another pill and helped Charlie swallow.

……………………………

Jack's eyes snapped open and he was charged and ready to go. He carefully came to his feet and tentatively took a step forward. Better… still painful but better. He once more began his trek to find Kate… he knew that she couldn't be far away. As he began walking he began to ponder why it was he was going to such lengths for Kate.

"It's not as if we dated or anything… we only kissed once and that was a mistake!" Jack shouted angrily as he walked slowly.

"_But how do you know it was a mistake? Did you ever ask?"_ the sensible part of his brain asked while Jack grew angrier.

"Well how could it not be a mistake? I mean she looked terrified that she had done it and then she ran like the bloody devil was after her!" Jack muttered darkly. The other part of him just laughed at Jack.

"_Tell yourself whatever you need to to get through the day buddy boy. But you know that she isn't just some girl to you. You were in love with her as soon as she agreed to stitch you up. Not the most romantic first date but still…"_ Mr. Sensible teased. For once Jack shunned this part of him and refused to let it talk anymore. He didn't want to be cool and collected. He just wanted to be angry for a while.

……………………..

"How's the babysitting going for ya Libby?" Ana asked as she watched the giggly blonde bounce the baby up and down playfully.

"Oh… it's going great Ana! I just adore children… I used to have one but…" Libby immediately trailed off and changed the subject. "He's just a little angel though… he hasn't cried since I've been here!" Libby exclaimed, suddenly happy again. Ana for one though was certainly disturbed by Libby's change of mood. She thought it best though not to push Libby to tell her about her child. Ana watched Aaron giggle and laugh… with that maniacal little gleam in his eye that only happy babies are able to achieve and felt tears growing in her eyes. She had wanted that so badly and it was snatched away in one fell swoop. Before she knew it she was crying… no sobbing so loudly that Libby stopped her cooing to rush over to Ana.

"Ana! Ana what's wrong?" Libby asked fearfully. She had never once seen Ana break down like this and it unnerved her. Hell… it horrified her.

"All I wanted was a baby…" Ana sobbed uncontrollably know. "All I wanted was something that I could love selflessly and who would love me back!" she cried and struggled to control herself. Libby felt tears invading her eyes as well but quickly forced them back.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Libby asked softly. Ana stubbornly shook her head. Now that her tears had lessened and she had her wits about her once more Ana didn't want to let her emotions show.

"I've talked about it for years now… I don't need to relive it anymore. It's a part of my past now," Ana said, stripped of any emotion. Libby smiled sympathetically.

"Well… you're not alone. I won't make you talk but I will ask you to listen," Libby said soothingly and took it as an invitation to continue when Ana didn't leave. "Oh let's see… it's been such a long time now…" Libby said distantly and she looked distractedly at Aaron.

"_Who does she think she is… she had no idea what the hell it is I'm going through!"_ Ana thought viciously to herself. She was shocked though when Libby turned to face Ana once more and revealed hurt and sadness in her eyes.

"I was sixteen when it happened. It was an accident that I didn't know could happen… I was so young and naïve… I heard about girls getting pregnant from my school but I just didn't think it would happen to me," Libby said with a nervous laugh. "I was in love with a boy a year older than me… his name was Jackson and he was a football player." Normally Ana would have smirked but she didn't even have the temptation to this time.

"What were you… a cheerleader?" Ana said, voice still shaky from her crying episode. Libby smiled sadly and continued with her story.

"No… I was just a normal high school student… not really active in extracurricular activities like sports… I was in the yearbook club… that's pretty much it. I always thought it was so odd that Jackson was interested in me… he surprised me by casually asking me to go to one of his football games," Libby chuckled a little bit. "I, of course, said yes and he told me the times and asked me to meet him on the field before the game started. We got to know each other a little better and it turned out he was really a nice guy." Libby stopped speaking for a moment and looked off in the distance… perhaps trying decide what to say next.

"Sounds like the perfect teen romance," Ana said casually. "So what was wrong with this guy… was he an alcoholic or some kind of sicko who knocks up girls for fun?" Ana asked curiously. Libby shook her head and smiled distantly.

"He seemed so perfect… and no he wasn't addicted to anything as far as I knew. I watched him play his game and cheered for him. Of course the other girls were all jealous of me because Jackson was considered a stud in those days," Ana chuckled at this. "Anyway, when the game was over we went our separate ways and I thought he wouldn't look my way the next day. I was surprised when he caught me in the hall to ask me on another date," Libby smiled a little and Ana smiled with her.

"I assume you said yes," Ana stated because she knew that Libby had to of. Libby merely nodded and continued with her story.

"And I said yes another time… and another time after that… we went on so many dates and I started to love him. He told me one night when I was over at his house to watch a rented movie that he loved me too. I was so happy," Libby smiled through tears, "And then everything after that is such a blur… it was _the _night for us." Libby hugged her arm a little and Ana wondered if it was meant to comfort or if was just a habit.

"Go on," Ana encouraged gently and Libby looked uncomfortable.

"Well… about a month after that I started to feel sick every morning. I could hardly look at certain foods without feeling ready to throw up. At first I thought I had just caught something so I stayed home with my mom for a while. But then it never stopped and my parents finally took me to the Emergency Room to see what was wrong with me. I think that they thought I was dying and I thought so too. Then the doctor examined me and ran some tests and when they came back…" Libby's voice broke and she looked away. To Ana it seemed as though she were ashamed.

"And he told you that you were pregnant?" Ana asked even though she already knew the answer. Libby merely nodded and wiped away a couple tears painfully.

"I didn't know what to do… I… I was in shock I think. My dad went ballistic. Accusing me of sleeping with Jackson, which was really the truth, and I thought he was going to go over and personally murder my boyfriend. Me and mom finally got him to calm down enough to talk to me. The doctor left at that point I think… anyway, I talked to them about Jackson and how it had only been once and that I didn't think that anything would happen," Libby sighed sadly. "My mother told me I should probably get an abortion… that it would be easier on all of us… and I almost did. I was so hurt at the looks of disappointment that my parents gave me… almost as if I had planned it to be this way."

"Sounds like your parents weren't that supportive when they should have been," Ana said darkly and she really felt for the blonde woman in front of her.

"No… they didn't really consider what I might feel. When we got home I called Jackson and asked him to meet me at my house right away. Of course he thought that something was wrong and he dashed right over. I led him to my room and beforehand I had asked my parents to give us some time to talk things over. When we got to my bedroom he was really confused and a little surprised at the looks my parents had been giving him. That was when I told him… no beating around the bush or pussy footing around. I just flat out told him that I was pregnant. And… he just stared at me… for the longest time he just stared at me. I waited for him to say something but when he finally did I wished that I had never even told him," Libby was now shaking and could barely contain her tears.

"Oh… you mean he… he didn't!" Ana stuttered in amazement… just trying to absorb what Libby was telling her.

"He told me that we shouldn't see each other anymore… that I would just ruin his reputation!" Libby spat and tried to hold back the obvious screams that longed to burst out. "Then he just left… just like that he was gone forever. I don't think I had ever cried so much in my life… I just couldn't stop. My mother rushed in then and just held me… she even cried with me. My dad just watched from the doorway… he obviously was trying not to cry either." Libby paused and then took a deep breath as though to calm herself. "To make a long story short… my parents made an appointment for an abortion but on the way there I thought about it and I asked my parents not to make me. We argued for a bit, obviously my parents just wanted it to be over with but I just couldn't kill my child. So we went back home and we finally worked out an agreement. I would give my child up for adoption IF I couldn't take care of it and my school work. So once I started to show I stayed home and got a tutor to teach me. Then, February 13 I started to have contractions so I went to the hospital and by the 14th I had a gorgeous baby girl." Libby paused again as though to remember this wonderful moment.

"Well… that's great! A daughter…" Ana said weakly because she thought she knew how this story would end. Libby smiled back at Ana and then continued.

"I decided to name her Roxanne because I knew that when she got older she would break hearts," Ana smirked a little at this but was instantly expressionless again. "But it became clear within the first few weeks I had her that I just couldn't do it all… I could care for her and my school work. So one day… I came home from school… and there wasn't any gurgling baby to greet me in the living room. I called and called for my parents, saying that Roxie was missing and that we had to call the police. My parents came out of the kitchen and they looked at me. They looked at me and I knew… my beautiful little Roxanne was gone. They had signed her off as their daughter and put her up for adoption… they didn't even tell me that they would!" Libby broke down at this point and Ana found a few tears trickling down her face as well. "I tried to sneak off to the orphanage to find her… to try and take her back home… but the workers there wouldn't let me in. My parents must have warned them I would come looking for her…" finally Libby stopped talking and just cried. Ana just sat there awkwardly until Libby stopped crying. The two women stared at each for a while and Ana knew it was time to talk about him again. The little boy that she could never have.

"It all started with an urgent call at the station…"

**A/N: Okay… I hope you guys liked it! Ana might have seemed a little out of character but I thought that in a situation like this she might have let go a little. Anyway, please review! Thank you! My longest chapter yet for this story… 7 whole pages! (gasp!)**


	17. Quoth the raven, nevermore

**A/N: Okay… wow… no reviews for the last chapter. That's okay though… I'll keep writing this anyway. Sorry if the whole bit with Libby scared you off or something. It just seemed like a good idea to me. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own LOST… if I did would I really be writing fanfiction about it?**

(Kate's point of view)

I regret it. I regret the kiss and everything that happened afterwards. If I had just taken responsibility for what I had just done I probably wouldn't be in this mess right now. And frankly, I'm scared. No, I'm petrified. Even though you would think that I was a hardened criminal and that something like this wouldn't scare me, it does. You see, I only did the things I did out of fear. I was afraid of Wayne, I was afraid of going to jail for killing Wayne, I was afraid of all of it. I wouldn't have gone through anything that I did if I wasn't so afraid. Now here I am, scared as ever. I wonder why the natural reaction to fear is to run? My life has been so full of fear that I always have this itch to run away and I can't stop. Now, even if I was let off for murder, stealing, lying, etc. I would still want to run all the time. It's in my system now and it will take a lot of work to get it out. I know that Jack wants to help me stay grounded. That's why I'm afraid of him… running is a natural comfort… sort of like a security blanket. I'm afraid to let Jack close enough to rip that away from me because then I'll actually have to face problems. And yet I _want _Jack to help me… I _want_ to face my problems. So all-in-all… I'm screwed.

(No point of view)

Kate had dozed on and off for the past three hours. What else was she supposed to do? She was just about asleep again when suddenly the people carrying her stopped dead in their tracks.

"_What the hell?" _she thought to herself as her eyes snapped open. Oh yeah… there was a burlap sack blocking her vision. She could hear something shouting from a ways off.

"Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it!" someone shouted and Kate froze. "Kate!" was the final cry heard from a distance and all was silent again. Kate recognized the voice and it sent goose bumps up and down her arms.

"Jack," she whispered and she felt hope stir. He wasn't that far behind… he could only be about a mile off. The Others knew this and they began to mutter quietly to themselves.

"We can still lose him… it sounds to me as if he's hurt," a male voice argued and other voices agreed with him.

"Oh yeah? And what if he _does _catch us? I've been watching Jack and he's not gonna let something as little as an injury keep him from coming after his Katie poo," a rougher voice argued and all was silent. Kate's heart raced… would they go after him and kill him?

"I say we eliminate the problem," a rough female voice responded. Kate felt tears sting her eyes as she thought of what that meant.

"No!" a younger female voice cried. Kate recognized it as the young woman who had been arguing with "Zeke" before. "Do you not remember that we _need _him. We just have to keep ahead of him for a while longer until we reach _the spot. _We need him if we are going to complete this mission," the woman finished and waited for a reaction.

"You're right," the rough voice from before responded. "We need Jack to start this war," he encouraged. "Now come on… he can't catch us if we pick up the pace!" There were several enthusiastic cries and Kate felt herself being carried at a lightning speed. Before Kate had prayed for Jack to come find her… now she wished he would turn around and go back.

"_Please Jack… I'm not worth the lives of everyone else on the beach!"_ she silently pleaded. She knew that no matter how much she pleaded with him he would still come after her. It was in his nature to not let one person fall. Even though Kate couldn't see it there was a raven circling slowly over the group… seeming to send a black shadow over the travelers.

……………….

_Charlie carefully opened his front door and took a peek inside. All seemed quiet and restful. He slowly entered the house and looked around, hoping to see his brother. He wasn't around though so Charlie had to make his way to his mom's room alone. _

"_Mum," he whispered hesitantly and knocked on the door. He could hear a rustling inside and footsteps headed towards the door._

"_Charlie, is that you?" a woman's voice asked worriedly. Charlie breathed a sigh of relief and nodded against the door. _

"_Yeah… it's me mum… I heard about the trouble," he answered and the door opened a bit. _

"_What do you want Charlie?" his mother asked quietly, refusing to look at him. Charlie's heart ached as he saw his mother's fair face streaked with tears and her blonde hair horribly messed with. Her blue eyes contained fear and despair in them._

"_I want to come in and talk mum… I just need to talk to you," Charlie pleaded and the door opened wider. _

"_Come in then," she muttered and Charlie slipped through the door. He was surprised how put together and clean his mother's room looked. It so terribly reflected the emotions that were clearly running through the room. _

"_I wanted to thank you… and apologize for making you stick up for me," Charlie said regretfully. His mother stared at him for a moment and smiled gently. _

"_You're father is wrong about you Charlie… you have such a good heart. You'll grow up to be a great man one day," his mother said gently and laid a hand on her son's shoulder. "Promise that you won't make the mistakes I did… the mistakes I made of raising you and your brother and the mistake I made of marrying your father. It was a marriage of convenience," she pleaded softly and Charlie tearfully shook his head. _

"_You didn't make any mistakes raising me mother," he whispered. His mother just stared at him kindly. _

"_I'm going to take a bath now Charlie… to clear my head. You go on to bed and we'll face your father in the morning," she stated simply and headed towards the bathroom. Charlie nodded and turned to leave the room when something stopped him. For some reason he couldn't quite leave the room yet. He went over to his mother's dresser and gazed at the pictures lined up there. So many happy pictures, depicting a life that barely existed. Charlie jumped at the sound of water running and then turned back the pictures. He picked his favorite one up tenderly, it was a picture of the entire family in a studio. His brother had messed his hair up right before the photographer took the picture, Charlie was sticking his tongue out, his mother was reaching over to fix her son's hair, and his father was smiling painfully at the photographer. Charlie laughed as he always did upon viewing this picture. The laugh died on his lips though when he saw a sheet of paper fall from behind it. Curiously, he opened the folds and read his mother's neat scrawl. _

_My dearest sons,_

_I wish I could have lived to see you all have families of your own. Unfortunately that wasn't able to work out. I'm so sorry about the way I chose to exit life but you see it was really the only option…_

_There had been more to the letter but Charlie had stopped reading. He frantically made his way to the bathroom and tried to open the door. Sadly it was locked and Charlie wasn't able to get in. _

"_Mother, please it doesn't have to end this way!" he screamed through the door. "Don't do this! You can live to see us have our own families… please don't give up on me!" Charlie hollered as loudly as he could over the running bath water. He rammed himself against the door, trying desperately to break it open. Unfortunately Charlie was never really in to working out after school. He quickly abandoned this method and began searching her nightstand for a hairpin. In the back of his mind he already knew that it was too late but he fiercely ignored this. He could hear footsteps coming up the stairs but he didn't pay attention to it. He had to find a hairpin! He opened the last drawer on the nightstand and found a single hairpin… glittering up at him mockingly. He grabbed it and raced to the door. _

"_Charlie! Charlie what are you doing!" his brother shouted to him but Charlie ignored him. He aggressively shoved the hairpin into the lock and began to turn it frantically. This had to work. Charlie could feel warm water seeping underneath the door to his feet but he ignored this as well. Finally the door unlocked with a click and he raced into the bathroom. He stopped dead as soon as he saw the bathtub… he stopped and stared. His sweet mother… with whom he had just been talking to nearly an hour before, was there in the bathtub._

"_How long had I been looking at those pictures," he thought to himself randomly. He stared and he heard his brother's breath quivering behind him. Charlie didn't even care that his mother's blood was seeping into his shoes and staining his pant legs. He didn't even feel it when his brother pulled him from the bathroom and into the bedroom. As far as he was concerned he was still in the entry way to the bathroom… staring at his mother for all of eternity. _

Ever since then Charlie had done a pretty efficient job of convincing himself that she died suddenly in the night… probably from a heart attack from all of her stress. Sometimes though, like now, he dreamed about that night and he remembered.

…………………

"How much farther do you reckon he went?" Sawyer asked for the hundredth time that afternoon. Sayid rolled his eyes and gave the same answer he had every time.

"I don't know Sawyer," he said, annoyance etched clearly in his voice. Sawyer was blissfully silent for a while and all that could be heard was the tramping of feet. A bird passed over head and Bernard, being a natural bird watcher, looked up to see what kind it was. His blood ran cold though when he recognized the raven circling above them. Bernard was not a superstitious man but in times like this he certainly could believe in an omen. Sawyer followed his gaze and for a moment his blood was icy too. Sawyer had read that poem by Edgar Old and Creepy in high school and it all came back to him in a rush.

"Quote the raven, nevermore," Sawyer muttered darkly. Bernard shot him a look but remained quiet. There was an eerie silence in the group and everyone could feel a sense of foreboding creeping into their stomachs with every circle of that raven.

"Hey Sayid…" Sawyer began and Sayid turned to look at him, sensing a different tone in his voice. Sawyer was staring at the ground with interest. "How much farther do you reckon he went now?" he asked and pointed to the ground. There were faint traces of blood mixed in the soil and not far off there was vomit. Yes, this was the same place that Jack had stopped to rest for the first time. Sayid's eyes scanned the ground and he gave a grim smile.

"Not far," he answered simply and began to walk again. Bernard and Jin stared at the ground a while more before heading after Sayid and Sawyer. And still the raven circled them and in the minds of the fearful travelers they could of swore it croaked a line of,

"Nevermore!"

**A/N: Okay… that was a really creepy chapter for me to write. It was overall depressing… lol! Please review and tell me what you think!**


	18. The Wait Is Almost Over

**A/N: I am so sorry for the really really really really really really really REALLY long wait for those of you that have been keeping up with this story. My apologies… but now the new chapter is up! **

**ANY ONE WHO ENJOYS WRITING MOULIN ROUGE STORIES, PLEASE CHECK OUT A CHALLENGE PUT UP BY Sugarfaerie! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Lost… or anything associated with it… I don't even own the first season so… actually if hersheygal had never loaned hers to me I wouldn't be stuck in this bloody mess. Thanks a lot… lol:D**

(Jack's point of view)

I'm not entirely sure why I'm still chasing after Kate. I mean… she's only brought me pain so why should I go and chase after her again. Kate is a big girl… she can take care of herself right? Sigh… wrong. I know that the Others have her now which means she wouldn't stand a chance… which is why I'm chasing after her. With only a half loaded gun to protect me… smooth Jack. And whatever happened to Sayid, Sawyer, Jin, and Bernard? Oh yeah… I ditched them way back when I was convinced that Kate would die unless I moved instantly. Another point for Jack. Oh and did I mention that I broke my foot in a retarded trip over a root so every step I take is laced with nauseating pain. So… so far my vacation here at LOST Island has been simply great. Please note sarcasm. I'm always a little cynical when I'm having fun.

(No point of view)

Michael continued to pace up and down the beach nervously. Every few strides he would cast an anxious look up in the sky and would lower his head once more when he noticed the clear skies. He had rather hoped that no one noticed his obvious distress… and his hopes were soon shattered.

"Is everything alright Michael?" Sun asked in her slightly broken English. Michael started noticeably but then quickly gave Sun a hasty smile.

"Oh yeah… everything is fine and dandy down here," Michael lied, trying to put a joking edge in his words. Sun merely cocked an eyebrow at Michael and he could have sworn that she had looked right into his soul. Michael tried his best to hold her gaze but felt himself instead falling short… very short.

"I know that you are worried about him Michael… but you can't let it control your life. Or your mind and way of thinking," Sun cautioned. Michael looked at her… his very sensitive defense system already being built.

"How would you know?" he spat venomously. "Have you ever had a child who's life is in danger? Have you ever felt worry for something that means the most to you in the world?" Michael cried, looking rather wild-eyed and self-pitying. Sun took a step back, looking hurt. She looked at Michael for a while… just shaking her head sadly. She looked down at her stomach and gently laid a hand on it, seeming to caress it.

"Don't think that you are the only one with guilt and with concerns that eat away at you," Sun hissed, obviously emotional. Michael paled slightly and looked back down at the sand again, feeling rather embarrassed. There was a tense silence where Sun seemed to expect Michael to apologize. When it seemed that wasn't going to happen, Sun decided it was time to take her leave. "Just be careful Michael… and always remember to do the right thing," she said softly, desperate to reach out to him. When Michael still didn't move Sun moved off slowly… and finally. For a wild moment Michael wanted to call out to her… to ask her how you know what the right thing to do is. He wanted to tell her everything… even the terrible task he was assigned.

"_Oh but they'll know… they'll hear you,"_ a little voice in Michael's mind warned. Michael sighed in defeat and went back to pacing… always and continually pacing… looking for a sign.

………………

Jack walked… no limped… no crawled forward, his breath wheezing terribly so that each breath seemed to shake and rattle at his lungs painfully. His water had long run out and his mouth was too dry for him to enjoy any of the food he brought with. All Jack could do is follow his instincts blindly and hoped that he was still headed in the right direction. His brain was even too numb for Jack to have a decent conversation with himself. Not that it would especially cheer him up or anything. Finally he came to a shuddering stop… simply lacking the will power to continue on. Everything in him hurt… his legs hurt, his arms hurt, his chest hurt, even his bloody eyes hurt but there was one thing that hurt the most… and that was his heart. All he could think of was that Kate was dead… she's dead and I never even got to talk to her one last time. Over and over his angry and hurtful words replayed through his mind making him miserable.

"Why am I still going on? She can't be alive!" Jack mumbled to himself tiredly. He was just about to let his eyes close so that he could just sleep for a long… long time when Jack could hear voices. They were distant and soft but he could still hear the voices… murmuring with each other. Jack lifted his head once more to listen and just the thought that there might be a point to this escapade gave Jack strength. He picked himself up off the dirt and began to once more move forward… moving only on a faint fantasy.

……………….

Claire felt her eyes droop involuntarily and she quickly forced them back open. She looked back down at Charlie and relaxed when she saw he was still sleeping (I suppose you could call it sleeping) peacefully. Nearly an hour ago he had started to jerk and mumble incoherently… and the tone of his voice and expression on his face terrified her. Claire slowly stretched her stiffening muscles and exhaled easily through her nose.

"How you doing Charlie?" she asked sleepily. Claire snorted when she realized that Charlie wasn't going to answer her anytime soon so she ambled over to where there was a stack of blankets. Looking up at the clock she realized it was time for another pill so she carefully measured out the amount instructed and eased the little white pills into Charlie's mouth. She smiled affectionately when Charlie subconsciously swallowed the pill on his own and Claire once more returned to her chair. Suddenly a thought crossed Claire's partially alert mind.

"_I wonder how Aaron is doing? I'm sure he's having fun with Libby,"_ Claire assured herself instinctively. As much as she loved Aaron Claire couldn't bring herself to leave Charlie in case he had another seizure or something. Once more settling back into a comfortable position, Claire's mind began to wander.

"A…" came a mumbled word from Charlie's mouth. Claire gave an exasperated sigh and once more left the chair to be closer to Charlie.

"What was that Charlie?" she asked sweetly, remembering Charlie telling her that he liked it when she talked to him.

"Aar…" Charlie tried again. Claire tensed a little and leaned in even closer to hear Charlie better.

"What?" she asked again anxiously. Charlie's face contorted as though he was straining very hard.

"Aaron," he finally forced out. Claire paled for a moment and felt herself tremble a bit.

"What about Aaron Charlie?" Claire whispered, leaning in even closer. Charlie was silent for a moment before uttering the name again with more urgency.

"_Aaron!" _he insisted, slight panic forming in his voice. Claire's face turned ashen and she subconsciously clutched Charlie's hand in a death grip. "Aaron, Aaron, Aaron!" Charlie muttered hoarsely one more time before falling silent again. Claire felt herself become panicky again.

"What about Aaron Charlie?" she screamed. "What is wrong with Aaron?" she cried desperately, clutching his hand even harder. Claire stared hopefully into Charlie's face for what seemed like hours before finally throwing herself away, noticing the grip she had on him.

"_He must be having a memory or something… you know when he tried to baptize Aaron for you… it's okay," _Claire reasoned… not wanting to think of what else he could have meant. Something deep inside of her argued though. That look that was on Charlie's face could not come from a memory… it was urgent and pleading. Desperate.

…………………

"Let's stop here," Kate heard a gruff voice insist. A second later she felt herself fall roughly to the ground. Unable to contain herself, Kate gave a pained yelp. Sounds of amused chuckling could be heard but she was otherwise left alone. Kate tried to curl her knees up but found she was unable to because the ropes were too tight and she didn't really feel like cutting off all circulation in her lower half.

"_What do they want with me?"_ Kate asked herself for what seemed the millionth time. _"I wish I hadn't been so rash… I wish I had just stayed in the camp," _Kate scolded herself, feeling very self-pitying.

"What do you say we take the bag off her head?" a voice suggested and there was a mumbled response.

"I suppose for a while… she can't know where we are anyways," the voice of the leader, "Zeke", replied warily. Kate jumped when she could feel hands touch the bag on her head but relaxed when she could hear the rope holding it on was being untied. Gradually the bag was pulled over her head and Kate was once more exposed to the world. She winced at how bright even the sinking sun but her eyes soon adjusted.

"Well ain't she a pretty one?" Zeke leered, leaning in closer to Kate. "I didn't notice that the first time cause it was pretty dark then…" Zeke chuckled, turning back to the rest. "It's all just a matter of patience now," he encouraged and the others smiled up at him. All except for one anyway… a young girl with dark hair that had an expression of slight fear.

"_That must be Alex,"_ Kate instantly thought. She found it strange later how she just knew who this girl was… but it was a strong feeling inside that told her that this girl was help. She was Kate's only hope at this point.

"You'd better hope that lover boy shows up soon," an Other that remained nameless threatened. Kate swallowed and nearly choked on her fear as she heard a slight rustling from the trees directly before her.

"_I have to warn him… I have to let him know what he's getting into!" _Kate thought desperately, searching for something that she could use to help her. She found nothing and decided to just try and scream at the top of her lungs, despite the gag.

"Jack!" she tried to scream though it came out very muffled and faint. "No! No, no, no, no, no go back!" Kate tried desperately to scream and she did accomplish some rather loud grunts and slurred words.

"Start the fire," Zeke instructed, motioning for one of his followers to do so. It was then that Kate noticed the large stack of wood and realized with horror that it was a sign. A signal for someone far away. And that was when the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

"_No,"_ she thought desperately, squeezing her eyes shut to hide her tears. _"No, no, no!" _

…………

"What the hell?" Sawyer muttered, glaring up at the sky. Smoke was starting to curl up over the trees and Sawyer had a bad feeling about it. "What do you reckon that is?" he asked, a hint of fear in his voice. Sayid glanced up and also felt fear strike his heart.

"I don't know… but we have to hurry," Sayid shouted and began to run in the direction of the smoke. The entire group had a terrible feeling growing in the pits of their stomach… growing and growing until it nearly consumed them.

…………….

Michael paced…

_One stride, two strides, three strides, four strides. _

And routinely glanced up at the sky.

_God I hope the signal isn't there. _

Michael had so been in the habit of simply going back to pacing nervously that when he saw a faint curl of smoke coming over the trees he didn't know what to do. For a while he just stood there, dumbly, and groping in his mind for what it was he was supposed to do.

_First signal… just prepare yourself… it's a warning. _

Swallowing down his guilt and shame Michael tried to detach himself for what he was about to do. Slowly he pulled the gun out of his back pocket and carefully loaded two bullets into it.

_Just in case you miss the first time._

Michael paused for a moment before once more returning the gun to it's normal state and heard the sickening click it made. Michael then sat down on the beach, trying to calm himself, as he continued to watch the smoke.

**A/N: So what did you think? And trust me… whatever it is that you think Michael is about to do you are probably wrong. :D Please review and tell me what you think! **


	19. Mist and Shadow

**A/N: Hello my little friends… most of whom I never have nor will meet… :D I am back with a new chapter and hopefully it will clear some things up for you… I figure I've kept you in the dark long enough… ;D**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own LOST… I could never come up with anything that brilliant… **

(Michael's point of view)

It's too easy… too easy for the Other's to succeed. They took a nice and trusted man like me and turned me into… into… anyway, they held my son against me. God… I could never live with myself if I let anything happen to him… I may not have known him for that long but I love him. I love him as if I'd seen him grow up and attended all of his Spelling Bees and art displays. I just pray that I can have this chance with him so that I can redeem myself. But the price is so high… betraying the very people that took me in without questions or judgments. The same people that I have bonded with and grown to care for… oh man. I'm so nauseous all the time… it seems I can hardly go two hours without feeling a need to vomit. I just want this to be over so I can move on… but I have to wait. They told me to wait for the right moment and I am… Walt is worth everything.

(No point of view)

Jack moved forward, the voices in the distance egging him ever onward. All his mind could tell him was to put on foot in front of the other, now take a breath, exhale, and take another step. That was all he needed to know… he had to get to where he was so sure Kate was. Of course he didn't know what he was going to do once he finally reached Kate but Jack decided he would worry about that when the time came. Finally, the voices were so near that Jack could just make out what the words meant.

"We need him to come… we need him to complete the task," a low voice insisted and others murmured in agreement. Suddenly Jack heard something that made him forget his own physical pains. It sounded like muffled screams but Jack instantly recognized the voice of Kate… _his _Kate that was currently being held against her will by monsters. With a determined grunt Jack finally broke through to the small clearing where he was certain they were… where they had been talking just a few minutes ago. One of Them turned casually to face Jack and smiled.

"Well it's about time doc, care to hear a little proposition?"

………………………….

Claire was frantically hanging off Charlie, hoping that he would speak again and explain what he meant about Aaron. His repeated use of the name had chilled her inside and out and now she needed answers. Unfortunately for her, no sound came from the unconscious man's light blue lips. Claire finally gave a frustrated sigh and began to pace the room nervously. She found herself at a cross roads… and neither road seemed too appealing. The first road was that she would leave Charlie alone for a time, go visit Aaron, and just try and assure herself that nothing would happen while she was gone. The other road was that she stayed with Charlie and tried to convince herself that Aaron was fine in the care of Libby. Biting her lip nervously Claire continued to pace the room, eyes scanning the room frantically hoping to find an escape somewhere. Finally her dilemma was solved when she heard a low mumble come from Charlie.

"My place is with you…" she mumbled and once more sat in the chair. Although she had made up her mind it didn't stop that sickening nervousness in her stomach.

……………………

"I wonder what's wrong with Michael," Libby said, glancing nervously through the tent at the man. He had been pacing nervously for the past hour or two and now suddenly he was just sitting on the beach… looking at the cloud of smoke. Ana sneered slightly and glanced over at the smoke.

"Think it might have something to do with that?" she asked darkly. For whatever reason she knew that something about that smoke was evil.

"I don't know what you mean," Libby said, obviously in denial about something. Ana cocked an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Don't know what I mean about what? I was just commenting on the smoke," Ana replied edgily. Libby looked over at Ana and just shook her head. Ana decided to let it drop… besides… she didn't want Libby angry with her. She's the first person that really had a conversation with Ana in the past few weeks.

…………………..

Kate could have cried when she saw Jack stride towards her, looking angry and desperate. It reminded her of an old John Wayne movie she saw… the kind where the gun slinging, handsome hero came and taught those bandits a lesson. Then the damsel in distress would run into her rescuers arms and declare her undying love for him. Too bad this wasn't a Western.

"What do you want with her… with me?" Jack demanded, eyes blazing. "Zeke" just laughed and waved his arms around as if warding off the questions, rather like you would swat away flies.

"Have you really not figured it out Jack?" Zeke asked, laughing all the while. When Jack just stared Zeke heaved a sigh and continued on. "Your friend Michael is back at camp with a loaded gun and at this very moment he is preparing to carry out his mission," Zeke explained as if talking to a very young person. Jack just shook his head fiercely, trying to keep his balance all the while.

"Michael would never do that!" he insisted, glaring all the while. Zeke obviously noticed Jack's physical state though and changed the subject.

"Tired Jack?" he asked simply and grinned. Jack remained in stony silence, every now and then sending small glances towards Kate. He was secretly outraged to see how she was gagged, but was relieved to notice she was alive. Zeke sighed again and his eyes hardened, all merriment that they contained was gone.

"The game is up Jack. We've got Kate here as a bargaining piece and Michael is down there with a gun… ready to fire on people that lacks an established leader. All he's waiting for is our signal, which will be given in about seven minutes. That doesn't give you much time Jack." Kate felt tears welling in her eyes as the scene played before her eyes. She would never live with herself after this… knowing that it was she and her silly impulses that had got them all into this mess.

"All right, you've told me this already! Tell me what I need you want me to do and I'll consider," Jack retorted, seething in frustration and anger.

"Cool your jets doc. What we want is a war and there will be no considering left after it's all said and done. We led you here so that you could see this innocent girl here… see that we have her in our grasp and it will be enough I assure you," Zeke said, finally getting down to it. He must've saw Jack's hand reaching towards his gun because he quickly cut in. "Don't even bother with guns Mr. Shepard… I don't think your father raised you to be that kind of man!" Jack's eyes narrowed but he slowly brought his hands back to his sides helplessly.

"Let her go…" Jack demanded, eyes traveling to Kate desperately. Kate struggled against the ropes across her wrists, hoping that if she pulled hard enough they will break. She wished her lips could form words instead of being pressed into this straight and unmoving line.

"Can't do that Jack… you took one of ours… we're going to return the favor," Zeke replied coldly, smirking widely. Jack's face visibly paled but he remained in the same spot.

"It's been five minutes… only have two more to go!" another one of Them muttered from behind the large fire. Zeke nodded at him and then turned back to Jack.

"She's seen her hero… pull the bag back on," Zeke ordered. Jack made a strangled noise in the back of his throat as a large burlap bag was pulled over Kate's head but he knew there was nothing to be done. He could have sworn she was trying to form words before the bag engulfed her head entirely.

"So Jack… this is what happens when you play with fire. You get as much as you give… and we're going to be giving a lot," Zeke chuckled and then turned back to the fire. "It's been seven minutes… time for the final signal to our friend Michael."

"You're bluffing!" Jack cried out suddenly. Zeke glanced over at him and shook his ragged head sadly.

"You'll wish I was when this is all over." And with that Zeke threw something into the flames that caused the smoke to explode in a green… he probably threw some sort of colored signal into the fire.

……………………..

Michael knew what happened before he saw it happen. He knew what he had to do. Detaching himself for the final time, Michael climbed to his feet and walked slowly over to the tent containing the two women and the baby.

"What the hell was that?" Libby cried, noticing the giant flash of green outside. Ana leapt to her feet and raced outside, leaving Libby alone with Aaron. The baby was crying now out of the fear that seemed to surround them and Libby made her way to the crib. "It's okay little baby…" she cooed. Suddenly there came a heavy smash into her head and Libby dropped down, unconscious. Michael didn't even glance down at her as he walked steadily towards the crib. He mechanically held the gun out towards the crib towards the screaming baby. The wails seemed to echo in his mind as they increased, making it difficult to think.

"I'm so sorry Claire," he muttered. He didn't even hear Ana as she came back through the tent entrance. She saw the scene with a mixture of horror and a grim understanding. Her baby's life had been taken and she had been ruined because of it. Now she was going to save Claire from a similar fate. Without a thought or a regret Ana raced towards the crib with a determined and long stride. It seemed to Ana that all she could hear was her heat beat… beating so steadily and loudly in her ears with a steady throb. It seemed she didn't breath at all in those final moments.

A gun fired twice from the small tent down by the ocean… and a baby cried.

**A/N: Well there you have it! All will be explained and wrapped up in the next chapter… so please let me know what you thought! **


	20. Cloud and Shade

**A/N: Well I'm back… mainly due to hersheygal badgering me about how she wants to know what happened in the tent and blah, blah, blah… lol! You know I love you Hershey! As well as anyone else who reviews, like orlandocrazy, my fellow Orly lover:D Anyway, I'll stop being all weird and emotional and just let you read on… **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own LOST… I just write about it… **

(Mr. Eko's Point of View)

Things on the island have become very strange… even more than before. I cannot help but feel that everyone stopped functioning when Jack, Sawyer, Sayid, Jin, and Bernard went after Kate. Everyone still eats, drinks, walks, talks but no one does anything. It reminds me how dependent we have all become on Jack as our leader… normally people would have turned to Locke but he's been locked up in the hatch for a long time. I don't think anyone really trusts him anymore. I'm not even sure if I trust him… because I know that what we found in the Main Hatch was slowly driving Locke insane. I tried my best to convince him that what he had been doing in the hatch is important but I'm not sure if he believes pushing the button is helping anything. Locke doesn't like to be tricked or look ignorant to something. It hurts his pride too much. Pride is something that I gave up long ago, once I saw my brother being shot by the men that he had called to help him. I no longer cared for pride or boastfulness or deceit… I just learned to see the truth in things.

(No point of view)

Several people's heads jerked towards the tent in panic. The baby continued to wail and there came other sobs from the tent. Something was definitely wrong. Several people rushed over and pulled open the tent flap, revealing the contents inside.

First there was Michael, holding a gun and looking sick to his stomach. In the crib was a frightened baby crying pitifully, probably a result of the noise of the gun. Libby was on the floor, clutching the arm of what appeared to be Ana Lucia. The last thing that the confused survivors saw was Ana Lucia, pale and bleeding from her abdomen. Libby turned towards the recently arrived people, head bleeding from a gash, and seemed to plead with them.

"She's dead… Michael killed her," was all that was said.

(Flashback… kinda…)

_Libby's eyes fluttered open again after momentary unconsciousness. Before her she saw Ana Lucia rushing towards Michael who had his gun pointed towards the crib. _

"_Michael!" Libby screamed in horror. Before anyone could react however, Ana had raced in front of the gun in an attempt to grab it from Michael's grasp. He turned and on instinct fired the gun… twice. Ana froze sickeningly, eyes rolling back into her head. Michael made a gasping noise as she fell to the ground and landed with a heavy thud. Libby had rushed over to Ana at that point, ignoring the screaming baby, and stupidly checked for a pulse. Of course there was none. She had been shot in the stomach twice. _

"_Libby…" Michael hissed, looking revolted. Libby looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes. _

"_You're in with them… aren't you Michael? They wanted you to kill Aaron? Why?" Libby asked fiercely. Before Michael could reply however there were several people at the tent, peering in on them in fear. _

(End flashback)

Sun hurried up last but all she needed to see was Michael to know what happened. Michael stared at the crowd blankly and then shook his head in denial.

"I didn't kill her…" he whispered softly. Libby gave a shriek of anger and lunged towards Michael, grabbing his upper arms in a death grip.

"You liar… you tell them what you did or I will!" Libby screamed, shaking Michael. Michael just stared back at her, mouth agape, and shook his head again. Libby stood seething for a while, until she reached up and slapped Michael with every ounce of strength she possessed.

"Libby!" someone called in the crowd but Libby just ignored them. She looked up, eyes streaming with tears, and began her explanation.

"Ana Lucia went outside to see what the smoke was all about," she began shakily. "I turned to the baby because he was crying and suddenly I… I was hit from behind. I came to not too long after that, but just in time to see Michael standing in front of the crib with a gun pointed straight for Aaron!" she exclaimed, anger creeping into her words. In an instant Ana Lucia was on him, trying to take the gun and… he shot her… twice." There was a silence before someone cleared their throat.

"But if this was true then why didn't Michael just finish his task with the remaining bullets?" they asked cautiously. Libby grabbed the gun from Michael's limp grasp and checked.

"There was only two," she said, showing the empty gun to the rest. This must have been enough for the rest of them because Michael was quickly grabbed and dragged away, probably to the hatch. Sun stayed behind with Libby, staring sadly after Michael.

"Michael thought what he was doing was right," Sun said softly and mournfully. Libby turned to the other woman and nearly laughed.

"How on Earth could that have been the _right _thing to do? Kill an innocent baby… a _baby _for Christ's sake!" Libby cried, waving her arms around. Sun glanced at her and paused for a moment.

"The Other's have his son… obviously what he told us when he returned wasn't true. He did find Them and they put him up to it… for the life of his son," Sun explained, looking back at the smoke that was still rising heavily from the jungle. Libby looked up at the smoke as well and suddenly the pieces fell into place.

"Jack… Kate! Sawyer, Bernard, Sayid…" Libby mumbled frantically.

"Jin," Sun finished softly. Libby was silent after that… disturbed by Sun's sudden despair.

"What do they want with them?" Libby asked, more to herself than to Sun. Sun just shook her head and continued to stare off into the jungle. Libby sighed and turned back to the tent to try and calm the baby and do… something with poor Ana Lucia. The woman who had willingly gave her life so that the little baby crying in the handmade crib could live.

……………………..

"Come on!" Sayid called, voice heavy with accent. The other three men were racing after Sayid, struggling through the thick terrain of the jungle.

"Where exactly are we going oh oober tracker'?" Sawyer called as he ran, ducking a low branch.

"I think it's obvious that we're heading towards the smoke," Bernard huffed, having a more difficult time than the young men as he was getting close to sixty years old. Sawyer rolled his eyes but remained silent. Jin, of course, ran without speaking either… he hardly said anything as it was whether it was Korean or English. Suddenly Sayid came to a standstill which caused everyone else to halt painfully.

"What now commando?" Sawyer growled in annoyance. Sayid ignored the comment and continued to glance around in confusion. "What? Do you want me to stop by the nearest gas station and pick up a map or something?" Sawyer barked sarcastically. Sayid whirled around to face him and finally spoke what was troubling him.

"Have you not noticed how quiet it is?" he whispered. Sawyer glared at him but then it also hit him that there wasn't any noise… at all. The whole jungle was dead silent… no birds, no bugs, no water trickling, none of the noises that had been there previously. A deafening, stifling silence settled in and consumed the four men.

…………………..

Jack stared in horror at the fire that was now sporting bright green flames. In the distance he thought he heard gunshots… but it had to just be his mind playing tricks.

"What do you want with her?" Jack barked, motioning to Kate. Zeke howled with laughter and he gave Kate a light shove.

"You still don't get it? Well they let anyone get through doctor school these days don't they?" he barked and grabbed hold of Kate's elbow roughly.

"This is our hostage Jack. H-O-S-T-A-G-E. And we ain't gonna let her go until you meet our demands. So while you sit and plan just remember that Pollyanna here is at our mercy, which turns out to not be as kind as yours is." Jack felt fear grip his heart in a cold death grip. "We'll be seeing each other Jacko," Zeke chuckled and in an instant the fire was put out, leaving the world in darkness. Jack only just realized that the sun had set and how vulnerable he was at the moment.

"Kate!" he yelled angrily, running around as if hoping to find the thieves that took her. "Kate!" he cried one more time before his bad leg gave out on him. "Damn!" he shouted, nursing his now swollen foot. "Damn you Henry Gale!" he cried one more time before the darkness overcame him.

…………………….

Claire was just about to close her eyes when suddenly the hatch door opened above her. With a start, Claire jumped to her feet and eagerly ran over to the visitors, hoping it was Jack. Instead she was greeted with a horrifying sight. Michael was being dragged down, fighting and screaming all the way down. A little ways behind him a body was also being carried that looked vaguely familiar.

"What happened? What are you doing with Michael!" Claire demanded, horrified. Sun, who happened to be hoisting the body, saw Claire and immediately left Ana's side to go explain to the young woman.

"Michael… tried to kill Aaron. He has been corrupted by the Others," Sun said softly, nervously. Claire paled and immediately raced towards the opening.

"Stay with Charlie!" she shouted hysterically as she climbed out of the underground hatch and into the darkening evening. She had barely run a few steps however when she bumped into Libby who was carrying a large bundle in her arms.

"Where's my baby?" Claire shrieked, terror filling her. "Where's Aaron?" Libby instantly turned the bundle so that Aaron's sleepy face showed through.

"He's right here Claire," she whispered, eyes swollen from tears. Claire quickly snatched Aaron away from Libby and began to coo gently to him. Once Claire had calmed down she noticed how upset Libby looked.

"What's the matter? What happened?" Claire asked, softer now that she knew her son was safe. Libby shook her head, tears threatening again.

"Ana Lucia," she croaked out. "She's dead. Michael shot her twice when she tried to grab the gun from him," Libby explained, tears leaking through her puffy eyes. Claire gasped and then looked down at her peaceful child. If it hadn't been for Ana Lucia…

"Oh god," Claire replied in a hushed tone. She looked back up at Libby and felt tears forming in her own eyes as well. "Oh my god." Claire couldn't seem to find anymore words to say as she clutched Aaron close to her and cried. She just couldn't believe that such a selfless act was possible… especially from someone like Ana.

……………………

The four travelers broke into a small clearing where they thought the smoke had come from.

"Jack!" Sayid called into the darkness hopefully. The other three looked around in vain and then decided to call his name too.

"Hey hero! You alive?" Sawyer drawled into the night. No response… not from anywhere. Suddenly Jin tripped over something large in the ground and landed with a thud to the ground.

"Jack!" he cried in relief, quickly turning the still body over so that Jack's face was turned upwards. The other three hurried to where Jin's voice was coming from eagerly.

"Is he alive?" Bernard asked fearfully. Sayid leaned down and pressed a few fingers to Jack's throat, feeling for a pulse.

"Yes… he's alive," Sayid replied finally. The other three sat in silence until Sawyer did something expected… yet not expected. He reached over to where he assumed Jack's face was and smacked it as hard as he could with one hand, the sound making a resounding "thwack!" in the still night. It also caused Jack to yelp and start from his unconscious state with a sharp jolt.

"Sawyer," Sayid scolded… but he had to admit that it worked.

"Jesus Christ Sawyer what the hell did you do that for?" Jack shouted, rubbing his face. Sawyer shrugged and balanced on his heels thoughtfully.

"Well… I figured we didn't have time to play the Sleeping Beauty game… and I really didn't want to have to kiss you darling," he drawled characteristically. Jack reached up and punched Sawyer hard in the shoulder, knocking him down to the ground in sprawled heap. "Yup… he's fine!"

**A/N: Well… there you have it. Will you call the chase of now Hershey? Lol! Anyway, please review:D**


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